Holding Breath
by HeyItsMere
Summary: My parents thought I was dead for days. My brother thought I was dead for months. But then I go home. Despite being with my family, I'm more alone than ever.
1. Reborn

1-Reborn

I think my mother is afraid of me. I don't blame her.

I'm scared too. I'm afraid that any second I will attack someone and really regret it. I'd have to live with that guilt for eternity.

I think my favorite thing about being a vampire is not having to sleep. Not to mention that I can read really fast. I've loved sleep for a good three years because I was a master of lucid dreaming.

I was turned while we were in Washington. My family and I were visiting our cousins for Christmas and New Years, so we were visiting Forks. It is such a small town!

My aunt needed to go to the store and I volunteered to walk over to have some "me time". My brother Malachi offered to come with me, you know the "protective big brother" thing, but I refused. (It's not like he's really my big brother. Six minutes doesn't do much.) As I was leaving the store, I was hit by a car.

In the hospital, I was on the verge of death, when I felt excruciating pain. I assumed that my spirit was leaving my body and this is what it felt like. I could not have been more wrong. I'm writhing for days.

Three days later I wake up and everything is different. The fire is gone. Is this what heaven looks like? I'm not even in the hospital anymore. I'm in a house surrounded by people. I swear they were the most gorgeous people I've ever seen. It was miraculous.

According to Carlisle, the doctor, my life was saved. Apparently, these people were vampires. I knew they were crazy because vampires don't exist.

But then I realized that my body was different. My skin was pale white and rock hard. I was also slimmer and my hair was longer.

I then felt like I was dying. My throat burst into flame again and as I stood up, Carlisle put me back on the bed.

"I have to..." I don't know what I have to do. I just had to leave.

"No, you don't." He said. His golden eyes were beautiful. Somehow, I believed them.

"I'm only thirteen. I'm practically a child. I'm not staying like this for the rest of my existence." I say after I get an explanation. Not to mention proof.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't let you die. You're a young girl who should have a future. This was the only way. You are absolutely allowed to stay with us. We can teach you our way of life. I'm sorry to say that we will have to tell your family that," He waited for a moment. "That you didn't make it." He finished.

"Didn't you just say that I should have a future? How do I have a future if I'm staying with strangers as my family thinks I am dead. I want a future. I want to go to college. I want to have a family. I want to live."

I realize that my voice is like butter. It sounds like I'm singing, but I'm not.

"I don't think that is possible."

"It needs to be. I need to stay with my family. Maybe I could learn for a month and then go home."

"Maybe she's right. She should have the chance to grow up." Carlisle's wife said. "She seems to have a good amount of self-control."

"Maybe now, but she isn't Bella, Esme." He said with his eyes gazing towards a girl in the room.

"You need to meet me in the middle here. Do my parents even know about the crash? Do they know where I am?"

"Yes and no. They know about the crash, but they don't know you're here. I work at the hospital and we tell them that they can't see you yet."

"Then let them see. I can't live without them. They're my parents."

"That isn't the best idea." One of the guy vampires said. "If the Volturi found out they'd kill us all."

"Edward, let's not get into that right now."

"That isn't actually a bad idea." Esme said. I could see the pity in her eyes.

"Esme, I hate to intervene but there are so many consequences. It's just inadvisable." It was Bella. She was standing with Edward. He was holding her protectively.

"Maybe it's worth a shot." Said a girl who was standing with someone who was completely different than the rest. "I mean you all fought for me to have a family, why can't she?"

"Nessie, that was different. You were born when Bella was still human. The Volturi thought that they created an immortal child. Wait, she's old enough to not be an immortal child, right?"

"Don't worry Jake. Jane and Alec were her age when they turned. She's fine." Carlisle said.

Okay, so the doctor is Carlisle, his wife is Esme. Edward and Bella are together and have a kid who I assume is Nessie and she is with the odd Jake.

"Now you're getting it." Edward said to know one in particular. But I assume it's me.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"Oh, I can here peoples' thoughts and you are getting the hang of it. Over there," He pointed to two other vampires in the room. "Is Rosalie and Emmett." He pointed to the last two. "That is Alice and Jasper. Alice can see the future, and Jasper can sense and control people's emotions. I'm Edward, this is Bella. Bella is a shield, so she is immune to vampires' abilities. I can't hear her thoughts for example. She can also project it to protect others. Renesmee is our daughter and Jacob is a werewolf who is um... a good family friend." He said the last words slowly. "It's complicated."

"We are getting off topic." Carlisle said. "Alice, can you see what'll happen if we tell her parents?" It took a few seconds for her to respond.

"I don't think it'll be a problem. As long as everyone keeps quiet." That really relieved me.

"Is my throat supposed to be on fire?" I asked because it was driving me crazy.

"We'll have to get your thirst under control before doing anything." He put his eyes on Edward. "And we will search the perimeter beforehand. Unlike someone."

"That was a mistake Carlisle, besides, I didn't kill anyone so no harm done." Bella said.

"Question." I said. I have like a million. "So, I'm like a vampire. As in drink blood and..." I stopped. The word made me. I felt myself get up and start running. Carlisle put me down again. "Thanks."

"Yes. You are an actual vampire." Is he mocking me? "But we're different than the stories. We can go in the sun. Just not in public. You skin will kind of glow like diamonds. The crystalline structures in your skin reflect the light in that way. Also, the superstitions are not true in the slightest."

"That's relieving." I say sarcastically. "Can we just talk to my parents now? They need to know what's going on."

"You need to hunt first."

"Fine"

"Good." He turned to the group. "Any volunteers?"

"I actually need to hunt, so I can go." Bella said. "You'll do just fine Maya."

"Okay, we're doing this." He said and finally let me stand up.


	2. Answers

2- Answers

"So, how long have all of you been... In existence?" I asked Bella as we were walking back to the house. Hunting went well. But my head is still raging with questions.

"Carlisle's the oldest, he was human in the 1640s. Jasper fought in the Civil War and was also a part of a vampire army. That is a long story that I won't get into now. Edward was changed in 1918, Alice around the same time. Esme in 1921. Rose was changed in 1933 and Emmett in 1935. And I am the youngest by a long mile. I was changed just under a century ago." She finished. It is currently 2110.

"What about Renesmee?" I asked. She seems like a mystery.

"I married Edward while I was still human. I knew he was a vampire for a while until the Volturi got word and they were going to kill me. They couldn't trust that I could keep secret. I wanted Edward to change me himself, and he wanted me to stay human. His side of the bargain was that I marry him and then he change me. So, when we got married, I became pregnant. We didn't realize that it was possible, but it was. She She grew exceedingly fast and stopped aging at about seven years old. She is physically eighteen or so. Edward changed me because she practically killed me. But I'm still here."

"So, she is half-human?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Who are the Volturi?"

"They are like vampire royalty. They are an all power family centuries old. They all have insane abilities and really want Edward and Alice to be a part of their guard because of their abilities."

"Well, hearing thoughts and seeing the future are really useful." I pause for a second, embarrassed to ask. "Do I have an ability?"

"We do not know. It may take a while to figure it out. One of our cousins has an interesting gift. He can sense vampires' abilities. He used to be a part of the Volturi. He was the one to tell me that I was a shield. Everyone's talents are different."

"Interesting. The abilities can be anything?"

"Pretty much. Carlisle's theory is that when we turn, one of our human traits is enhanced. Some enhance to abilities, with others they can be character traits. For example, Carlisle is extraordinarily compassionate."

We were back to the house now and Edward and Carlisle were waiting for us.

"How'd it go?" Edward asked.

"Pretty good, once we were running, she was independent from there on out. On the way back, she asked questions and I answered them."

I stayed silent. I actually enjoyed hunting more than I thought I would. I felt accomplished. My purpose fulfilled.

A month later, Carlisle said that I was ready for my parents. I'd been around humans before, but only briefly. And with help. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. My throat was yet again on fire and all I could think about was how amazing it would be to attack. I hunted directly after that.

When my parents arrived, it happened again. I knew that I'd get more comfortable after a while. I held my breath to help with the thirst.

I was told to hunt right before they came over. By the time I was finished, they had come.

Bella was with me, we had grown close over the course of the last month.

"Ready?"

"Not in the slightest." I reply to her. "I'm already thirsty."

"Too bad. I remember my first interaction with Charlie. I was terrified."

We walk inside, Carlisle meets us and I hear my mother sobbing from upstairs. My throat is still burning. I hold my breath. It doesn't help.

"I've explained a little." He says. If I could, I'd be crying.

"I can tell. What have you said?"

"I've told them about the crash, and about vampires. They know I saved you and why."

"What about Malachi?" I ask suddenly angry.

"Who?"

"What about Malachi, my brother? Does he get a chance to know?"

"Eventually." He responds.

"He's my twin. He needs to know."

"Eventually." He repeated.

"Can I see them?" I ask. I'm afraid of the answer, my anger suddenly gone.

"Yes, you've been good at restraint. We will all be there so you have no need to panic."

"Too late." I look at Bella. "I think my enhanced trait is anxiety." She takes my hand. I feel slightly relieved, but it doesn't make a difference. I realize I haven't blinked for over two minutes. That's normal, but I've been practicing "playing human".

"Come on, they're waiting." Bella said, she starts walking and I don't budge. She let's go of my hand. I start walking. Slowly and somewhat human-like.

Once I'm up the stairs, I see everyone including my parents. My mother is still sobbing and my father is all red. I see the blood in their faces and I somehow stay still.

"Hi." I say. My mom gets up and starts walking over.

"I wouldn't." Rose says. She stands too and walks towards my mother.

I agree with Rosalie. I take a few inhuman steps backward as fast as I can for good measure. My mother is in hysterics.

"Elizabeth, it's fine. It is completely normal for Maya to freak out about this. In fact, this is a good thing. It's very difficult for a newborn vampire to be around humans."

"So, the fact that our daughter didn't kill us is a good sign?" My father says sarcastically. I feel guilty.

"I see where Maya gets her sarcasm from." Emmett says.

I glare at him.

"I'm sorry." I say. "I don't want you to be afraid. This was the only way I could have survived the crash."

The room is uncomfortably silent.

"Okay somebody say something please." I say to no one in particular. My mother has finally stopped crying.

"So, this was the only way?" My mother asked. I slowly nodded.

"I couldn't let her die." Carlisle said. I turn my head towards him.

I feel my parents staring at me. I'm embarrassed beyond extent. I look back at them for the first time, directly at least. They see the crimson eyes that used to be brown. I break eye contact.

"Can... Can I," my mother is stuttering due to the fact that she is crying again. "Can I hug you now?"

"I'd love that, but I don't think that's a good idea yet." I see their disappointment. This would be a great time for Jasper to help us out here. You know, calm me down. Calm my mother down. Edward must have been paying attention because he looked at Jasper and nodded subtly. I immediately feel better. I silently thank Jasper.

"Don't take it the wrong way please. I already feel horrible as it is. I don't want you to be afraid." I repeat. Please understand. I'm getting impatient and antsy.

Flame.

Alice gasped. Oh no. Edward looked at her simultaneously. I look too.

"Maya needs to go. Now." Alice said firmly. My parents are panicking now. Alice walked over to me and grabbed my hand. We walk downstairs. She takes me outside and she picked me up and runs me half a mile in the forest.

"What happened, what did you see, why did I have to leave?" I'm talking faster than any human could comprehend. Edward and Bella arrive.

"I had to get Maya out of there, she was about to... you know." Alice said.

"Great, I told you I couldn't do this. I'm not ready."

"Maya, you are ready. It was just too much at one time. You'll get it eventually." Bella said.

"I know. Not yet." I just need to be alone.

"We should head back, I think Maya should have some time to herself." Edward said. _Thank you._ I say to him. They all leave. Except for Bella.

"You'll be fine. You know I'm always here if you need me."

"Thanks Bella." She leaves. Finally.


	3. Anger

3- Anger

I'm only half a mile in the forest so after they leave, I wait a few minutes. This can't be an issue. It just can't. It shouldn't. It's not them I'm worried about. It's me. What if my mom gets a paper cut and I have a frenzy? What if someone's nose bleeds at school?

I start walking back. Like a human. Ten minutes later, I'm standing in front of the house. I sit down by a tree. I wait. I don't know what for. I listen to the conversation from outside.

"Everything's fine." Carlisle repeats for the seventh time. "She just needed to leave. Alice usually isn't wrong about this kind of thing." He has that right. "It isn't your fault, nor is it hers." It is mine though. I know I really wanted to see them. But now all I want is for them to leave.

"Can I ask a question Carlisle?" My dad asked.

"Of course, Timothy." He responded.

"You can call me Tim, and her Lizzy." He never does this. He never tells people their nicknames. He must really trust Carlisle. Or perhaps is afraid? Please let it be the first one. "What do you think is the best solution?"

"There isn't much to do except wait for her to be more comfortable. It may take a while. I'm afraid if a decision is to be made, it would be up to Maya."

I think it's time for me to walk in. When they hear the door close, it's quiet. The silence is deafening. It's like the world stopped.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better!" I yell sarcastically. I walk upstairs. I hold my breath, it makes me feel slightly better. My mom isn't crying, my dad is no longer red in the face. "I had an idea. You may not like it, but it is a good solution." Please don't hate me.

"Maybe you guys could live in Forks for a while and I stay here so we can be together and I can be comfortable-ish."

There's a moment of silence. I look at Carlisle and search for an answer in his face. I can't tell. My parents were even more of a challenge.

"That's not a horrible idea." Carlisle responded. I look at my parents.

"The decision is yours." They looked at each other.

"If it helps you," My dad started to say. "Then I'm on board. Liz?"

"I've always wanted to live in a small town, why not?" She said. "How long do you think you'll need?"

I looked at Carlisle for an answer because I didn't know.

"Until I'm comfortable I'm afraid. I don't know when it'll be. Can you accept it?"

"You're our daughter, nothing could ever stop us from accepting you."

"Thanks Mom." I say.

"Can we hug you?" She asks.

"No." I say firmly. She laughs.

"Well, I think we have to leave and get our stuff together." My dad says. Is it bad that I'm relieved?

"Okay, have fun." I say to them as they get up. I move to the side of the room just in case. They walk down the stairs and leave.

"You okay?" Bella asks. "You seem shaken."

"Do I?" I say sarcastically.

"Maybe your enhanced trait is exceeded sarcasm." Rose says.

I don't laugh.


	4. Discovery

4- Discovery

My parents come over once a day and it gets easier over time. Malachi has yet to visit. I haven't been around human blood yet. _That_ is the hard part. I haven't run off since the first day.

My parents are finally comfortable with everything. I think. I'm more comfortable too. I think. We still haven't discovered an ability on my part. I probably don't have one.

Then the day comes. I am sitting in the living room at around two in the morning reading. Carlisle comes in.

"Maya, could I talk to you?" He asks.

"Of course." I say. It's not like I can respond with a "no".

"I know that you and your family are longing to go home. So, I think we need to get you comfortable with being in the presence of blood." Seems fair.

"Okay, we can work on that."

"You don't want to be in school when someone scrapes their knee on the street and have a frenzy." I laugh.

"No, I would not. They probably wouldn't like it much either. Neither would the Volturi." He laughed. Seriously though.

"Right, but you and your family live on the other side of the country where as far as we know, they are no vampires to help. Even if they are, they most likely aren't vegetarians."

"I never realized that." I don't say sarcastically. I actually haven't thought about it. "How do we do that?"

"You could come to work with me one day."

"Are you sure that's the best idea? Right now?"

"Well maybe not right now, but eventually. You know, as a final exam."

"And in the meantime?"

"We can start with being far away from a drop. Then, gradually the amount will get larger and you'll get closer."

"Okay, when can we start?"

"When your parents come later?"

"Sounds good." I say. He stands up and leaves the room. I sit in silence. My body motionless. You'd think I was a statue if you didn't know better.

When the sun comes up, I see no clouds. It is the clearest I've ever seen in Forks. I've lived here for four months.

I'm the only one in the room, which I prefer. With what little sunlight comes through the trees, it finds a way to hit me. I see the glow of my skin. It's unflattering.

I haven't blinked for hours. A devious thought says that I will win any and every staring contest with a human.

I lie on the couch and wait for something to happen. People come and go, I have some meaningless conversations, and I wish to go home. Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett go hunting and everyone else is scattered. I hear my parents approaching the house. I stand up and walk to the door. I open the door right as they are about to knock.

"How'd you sleep?" My mother asked.

"I didn't."

"You see, I knew that." My mother stuttered. "The sun's out." She says. She acknowledges the glow. I nod.

They came in and he headed upstairs. The people who are in the house are waiting.

As Carlisle explains his plan to my parents, I feel guilty that they have to be the victims. We would use Jake, but Nessie (and Jacob) refused. Not to mention he isn't exactly human.

In all of my existence, I've never felt more guilty about anything as much as I have been in the last few months. Can you blame me? I'm a vampire who can't live with her family. Malachi hasn't even seen me since Thanksgiving. AKA right before the crash. Does he even know? What happens when he finds out?

My parents agreed. I stand with my arms crossed against the couch. I can't take it anymore. I blurt out, "What have you told Malachi?"

"That is a very good question." My dad says. I see this going in a bad direction.

"He doesn't know." It's not a question. "He has the same amount of right to know as you do." This has been stirring in my mind for a while. I haven't had the confidence to bring him up. I've really been missing him.

They stay silent.

"So, my brother, my twin brother, thinks I'm dead."

"Kind of." My mother said. I take a deep, empty breath. They see my anger and my mother starts to tear up. At this point I don't care that she is scared.

"Why doesn't he know?" I virtually yell at them. "He is my brother, he is my best friend, he should know that I'm not dead!" Now I _am_ yelling. Everyone is staring at anything but me.

"Maya, we're sorry. We just don't know how to bring it up." My father says. I don't care if they are my parents. I am far too angry to back down now.

"Like that's an excuse, you're obviously embarrassed of this!" Normally, my mother would ground me for yelling at them, but now they're afraid of me, so apparently it doesn't matter anymore.

"Maya, we aren't embarrassed of you. There's nothing to be embarrassed of." My father replied.

"Yeah, okay." I say sarcastically and I walk away. I know Rose thinks my enhanced trait is sarcasm, but it's no more than when I was human.

I hear my mother sigh. I just leave. In my life, I've never been angrier than I am now. I feel like I have to kill something.

I don't want communication. I don't want interaction. I'm grateful when no one follows me.

As I hunt in the woods, my mind wanders to Kai. What will he do when he finds out? Will he overreact? Will he be ashamed? Will he be scared?

By the time I'm done, I'm still alone. I sit by a tree. I'm just under ten miles from the house. I see a rock about two feet away. Although I have no fatigue, I don't want to get up. I stare at the rock indefinitely. It budges.

The rock budged? It moved three inches towards me. No one is around, the wind is obviously not strong enough to do this. I look at it again. I will it forward. It comes to my hand.

Did I just discover an ability? What is this even enhanced from?

I see another rock further away. I stare and will it forward. It comes quicker than the first.

 _Timothy and Elizabeth are arguing about the Malachi incident._ _Everyone is standing around._ _Alice gasps._

 _"_ _Alice, what_ _did you_ _see?"_

 _"_ _Maya just discovered her ability._ _The Volturi want it."_

I'm still extremely angry. Whether I discovered the ability or not, I'd be this angry. With the few rocks I'd summoned, I put each in my hand one by one, and crushed them to ash.

I try with other objects. Leaves, dirt, even a few branches. It worked. It's been four months, I'm surprised that I haven't discovered this earlier.

I'm still sitting by the tree with my small rock pieces. I'm still extremely angry about Malachi, this completely blocks out the joy of the new-found ability.

Moments later, I see Alice coming. Great. Loneliness lasted just over an hour.

"Alice, I really don't want to talk to anyone."

"Yeah you do." She says and grabs my arm and takes me to the house.

"I don't want to talk." I repeat. I can tell that this is bigger than that. We walk in, her hand still on my wrist.

My parents had left. Good. I don't want to talk to them either. There is rapid conversation upstairs; what happened while I was gone?

By the time we're upstairs, all eyes are on me.

"What's going on?" I ask. It's Jacob who speaks.

"Basically, we are all going to die." Everyone stares at him in anger. Nessie hits him in the arm.

"Thanks for the optimism." I respond. "What's really going on."

"So, right before your parents left, I saw that the Volturi want your ability for their guard." Alice said.

"But how do they even know, aren't your visions according on decisions?"

"I don't even know. My ability must have manifested itself into cause and effect. I'm not even sure if that's possible."

"So, Jake was right, we are going to die." I say quickly. "If the Volturi come then they'll know that we shared this with my parents. Which is against the rules!" I'm panicking now. "I just went crazy about Malachi, and now he's going to die too!"

"I don't think it's something to worry about right now, we have time." Carlisle said.

"Really? You think we have time? This is something to panic about!" I said. I feel like Carlisle would be the first person to be sensible about this.

"Maya, there are bigger things to be worrying about." He said.

"Like what?" What could possibly be bigger than this?

"Like the fact that your parents are coming with Malachi any minute now?"

"What?!"


	5. Dry Tears

5- Dry Tears

I️ couldn't believe that Malachi was coming over. After I️ just blew up at my parents. The first time he sees me after four months and I'm extremely angry. This is just perfect.

"Can you blame them for feeling guilty?" Bella asked. "I️ mean, you were obviously angry and you have every right to be."

"But this isn't how I️ wanted it to happen. Maybe I️ wanted them to feel bad on a subconscious level, but I️ don't want Kai to meet me like this." I️ responded. Now I️ feel guilty. "They'll be here in less than ten minutes and I️ don't have anything prepared. Seriously, what do you say to someone you love who thinks that you've been dead for four months?"

"I️ don't have an answer for that." She paused. "Let's change the subject to a happier note. You discovered an ability."

"Yay." I️ say sarcastically. Must we talk about this now?

"Hey, I'm just trying to get your mind off of this. Which is obviously not working."

"You got that right." I️ say right as I️ hear the car pull up. "Here we go." I️ want to leave. But I️ need to stop running away from my problems. "How much do you think they've told him?"

"The only ones who know is them. And possibly Edward if he were paying attention." I️ really don't want to go through with this. I️ hear them approach the house. Kai is asking where they were. So, Mom and Dad have yet to tell him. That means he gets to experience it all at once.

"I️ got it." Bella said standing up. I️ stay on the couch dreading this moment.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, welcome back." Bella had never been comfortable addressing them by their first names. "You must be Malachi."

"Yeah, hi." He said awkwardly. "Seriously, what is going on here. Why are we in a house in the middle of the woods? You said that we were visiting Maya." I️ hear his voice quiver. I️ think it's time to go down.

Miraculously I️ start moving. Everyone is still in the doorway. He sees me.

"Maya?" He asked tears starting to stream down his face.

"Hi Kai." Again, we're I️ able to, I'd be crying. "Don't freak out."

"But you— you're— you're dead." He stuttered.

"I️ know." It's all I️ can say. What do you say to your twin brother who thinks you've been dead for four months?

"How?"

"It's a long story. I'm just glad that you're here." Maybe not 100%, But I'm still glad that he knows I'm "alive". My throat is burning.

He walks over to me. His dark hair the same as it's been for years. I️ stay still. He hugs me tighter than I️ thought possible by a human. "You are so cold. You're so pale. You're so beautiful."

"You can stop now." I️ say. He doesn't.

"Your eyes are golden. You're rock solid."

"I️ know, seriously you can stop now." I️ practically whisper.

"Let's go upstairs and give Malachi a reasonable explanation." My Mom said.

Kai's arm was around me as we walked upstairs. He was taller than me by precisely an inch and a half. He isn't totally freaked. Yet.

Everyone is in the room. I️ separate from Malachi momentarily and sit down. He sits as close to me as possible. I'm very uncomfortable in this situation. The explanation begins.


	6. Explanations

6- Explanations

"How do I️ know if this is real? How do I️ know this isn't just some sort of cult?"

"Because it's not." I️ say to him shortly. "This is real. I'm a vampire and have been for four months."

"Yeah okay." He says.

"So, Maya isn't the only sarcastic one in the family." Rosalie chimes in.

"Rose." Esme said warningly.

"We know it's a lot to take in at once, but it's something you need to accept." Carlisle said to him.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to need some proof."

What are we supposed to do take him hunting? "And how do you expect us to do that?"

Malachi and Edward start speaking simultaneously.

"Well I️ don't know, maybe show some fangs." They both said. I️ laugh internally.

"That'll do it I️ assume." Edward said alone.

"What else can you guys do?" He seems fascinated with this. Is it bad that I'm upset about this?

"Well, Alice has visions of the future. Jasper can manipulate other people's emotions. Bella is immune to other abilities and can project her shield to others. Renesmee can show what she is feeling by touching people's faces. Edward, as you know, can here other people's thoughts." I️ say to him.

"What about Maya's ability?" Alice asked.

"Maya doesn't have an ability because Maya's ability is going to get us all killed." I️ say. Every once in a while, I️ talk in the third person. You get used to it after a while.

"What's Maya's ability?" Malachi asked sympathetically. It's as if he's been here for years. I️ see a pen on the table and stare at it. Once my eyes are focused on the pen there is a connection. My eyes move and the pen moves with them. Straight across the table it moves. I️ break the connection and look up into the vicinity of nothing.

"Sweet, you have the Force." Malachi said laughing. We all look at him.

"No, Yoda, I do not have the Force." I say meanly to him.

"Yeah, okay." He says and gets serious again.

"I️ don't even know what it is. What's it even derived from. Abilities are enhanced from your human life." I️ say. We already told Kai about this and I'm surprised that he has an answer.

"Didn't you learn how to lucid dream? Like four years ago?"

"Three and a half." I️ say. "Do you really think that is what it could be?" I️ ask Carlisle.

"Possibly. We may never know." He responds.

"Why did you say that it was going to get us all killed?" Malachi asked me.

"Because it is. Alice, I'll let you take this one."

"When Maya discovered her ability, I️ had a vision that the Volturi will want her in the guard. Which is fine. But, the three of you knowing about us is the problem. It's one of the laws: We must remain secret from the human world. If they get word, they will most likely kill you and all of us. The Volturi will take any excuse to come after us."

"You could turn us." Malachi said after a moment's hesitation.

"No." I️ say sharply. "Absolutely not. You don't want to live like this."

"See Bella, Maya gets it." Edward said to her.

"We're not getting into this again." She responded.

"I'm glad that you aren't freaking out about this." I️ say to him. I'll ask Edward later what Malachi really thinks. I️ grab his hand lightly.

"Seriously, you're really cold."

"I know." I say and hold on.


	7. Flight

7- Flight

 _Six months later_

After Malachi's first visit, he comes everyday with my parents. I've improved a lot. I'm (somewhat, but not really) comfortable around humans and small amounts of blood, and my ability has manifested itself.

Carlisle said a few weeks ago that I was ready to go home. I wanted to really make sure, so I'm still here. But, I think I'm ready. It's August, the new school year is about to start. I want to be there for it.

Malachi has been going to school here, because we are living here. I've been reading and comprehending his textbooks so that I would be caught up.

The only thing bothering me right now is Kai always pestering me with questions. It's annoying and I'm just embarrassed.

But none of that matters because I'm going home.

"We'll miss you around here. Come visit." Carlisle told me before we left.

"I will. And thank you, for everything." I say to them. "For making this all easier. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime." He said to me. Then we headed to the airport.

"You excited?" Malachi asked as we got on the highway. Sometimes Kai and I talk like our parents aren't even there.

"Yeah," I say vaguely. I look at him smiling. "And extremely terrified."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I say. "They live on the west coast, we live on the east. If something happens, I don't know if I can take care of myself. There are so many people in a school. I know you don't get it, but this is probably going to be the hardest thing I've ever done."

"I'll be there. Your friends— "

"Won't know. My friends won't know." I cut his thought. My friends can't be there for me because they can't know. Not that big of a difference in full honesty. Kai is my best friend. "Malachi, you know this." I hardly ever use his full name. I just call him "Kai". He knows I'm serious when I use his full name.

He breathes deeply momentarily then says, "Yeah, okay." We sit in silence for the rest of the way.

It is a five-hour flight from Seattle to Baltimore. I'm silent for the majority of it. I sit next to the window with Malachi to my right. Our parents in the row behind us.

"You okay?" He asks me after noticing that I've been holding my breath. I was sitting as still as a statue just waiting. He's talking quietly.

"I'm fine." I say sounding agitated. "You don't need to keep asking." I turn to him.

"You just seem a little tense." He said with a hint of laughter.

"You think?" I ask sarcastically. "I never really noticed."

"Sorry." He turned away jittering. I get that he is protective, but I don't need _this_ much protection.

I stare back at the window. Now I start the conversation. We still talk quietly.

"You don't need to protect me."

"I'm your brother. It's my job."

"I don't need protection. You're only six minutes older than me. Doesn't make much of a difference."

"Anything can happen in six minutes."

"You know what I mean." I really hope he understands. I don't need protection. We've had this argument for years.

"I'll always be there with you. We've confirmed with the school that we are on the same team."

"That actually does makes me feel better." I mean it. "You don't need to protect me, but it makes me feel better that you would be there if necessary." I say. "After all, you are the only person who can ever calm me down. Now, it's really important that I be calm."

"Yeah." He says mixing a breath and a laugh. "Seriously, I mean if someone makes fun of you for whatever and you get angry," He says. Please don't say it. "We don't want you to kill half the school."

"Say it a little louder would you!" I hiss at him. He said it. This is the loudest thing either of us have said the entire flight. I see the fear in his face as he jumped back slightly. My parents hear me from behind our seats.

"What's going on? Everything okay?" My dad asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine." I say sharply and turn back to the window.

"You never answered the first question." Then you should have only asked the one. "What's going on? You two never fight."

"It's no big deal. Anyway, there are a lot of people who will think we're crazy if they hear."

"Then we'll talk later."

"Fine." I say and wait for the plane to land.


	8. Home

8- Home

We walk quickly through the airport and we get in a rental car. My dad was driving, my mother opposite him. Malachi was behind my dad and me behind Mom.

"So, are we going to talk about it?" Dad asked. I'd rather not, but I don't think there's any way to get out of it.

"We were just talking and I said something that set her off." Malachi said. I took an empty breath and turned toward the window.

"What did you say?" Mom asked.

"Do we really need to go into specifics?" I ask.

"Yes." My parents say simultaneously.

"I don't really remember it." Kai said. He turned to me.

"Well, I don't remember it either." I lie.

"You have an eidetic memory now Maya." Malachi said. I knew it was a cheap shot.

I sigh. "We were talking about how he didn't need to protect me all the time, but it was a good thing for him to be there. Then he said 'Seriously, I mean if someone makes fun of you for whatever and you get angry, we don't want you to kill half the school.'" I recite.

"Malachi, you know that isn't funny." Mom said.

"I wasn't trying to be."

"Then what were you trying to achieve?" I practically yell.

"Well, I'm sorry Maya. But what was I supposed to say?"

"You could have stayed silent!" Now I am yelling. "You could have not said anything!"

"You started the conversation." He's still speaking normally but I see his anger.

"You didn't have to take it that far. You could have ended it."

"Okay, calm down you two." Dad said.

"Whatever." I say. Malachi was the only one who was still calm. He was the only one of them who was never afraid of me. After a moments silence, I break.

"Malachi, how many people did you tell I was dead?" He stayed quiet for a moment. His silence scared me. "Kai, who knows?" I say in a deep, slow voice. My anger clearly coming across. He still isn't scared, but my parents definitely are.

"I swear, I barely said anythi— "I cut him off.

"What did you say?" I say in the same voice.

"All I said was that you were in a bad crash. I couldn't bring myself to say anything else about it. When we moved to Forks, I said that our parents surprised us with the move so that we wouldn't be in a lot of pain. When I found out about you, I said that you were better and were being homeschooled because of your eternal fear of people."

"So, no one knows anything." I clarify.

"No, swear to God." He said.

"Then why were you quiet when I asked?"

"Because I didn't know if you'd agree with the story."

"Why would that matter? As long as nobody knows anything it's fine."

"Okay, good." We were silent the rest of the way.


	9. Fine

9- Fine

"Welcome home." My dad says as we pull into our driveway. I'm smiling subtly, but inside I'm ecstatic.

As we get everything out of the car, I'm embarrassed when Malachi needs my help with his suitcase.

"You're not just doing this because I can, right? You actually need help?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's really heavy." I sense that he is lying. I pick it up and scoff.

"Kai, this is five pounds. You're not taking advantage of me this easily."

"Yeah, okay." He said and picked up the suitcase. We walk in and I have a satisfying feeling. I'm home.

I take my things up to my bedroom and look at everything. It all stayed the same. The blue-grey walls. The wipe-board with my book math. The books on my shelves. I missed it. Malachi walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Did I scare you?"

"No."

"Guess not. Want any help?"

"No, you'll mess it up. Do you want help?"

"If you finish first than sure. You probably will be."

"Maybe not. I refrain from using my "abilities" unless absolutely necessary." I put quotes around the word.

"Good luck." He turned away and walked down the hall.

I put everything away orderly and perfectly. Since I didn't have a lot of stuff in my suitcase, I was finished within the hour. I was moving uncomfortably slowly. Very human-like. I hated it. But, I need to get used to it.

I sit on the bed. It seems pretty useless now, I won't be using it to sleep. But, I'm surrounded by humans. If I make friends, (which would be miraculous and impossible) they would think it's weird that I don't have a bed.

It was 11:30 at night and my parents were asleep. I walk down to Kai's room. I knock and I hear his voice.

"Come in My." I use a certain knock every time. I opened the door to his red bedroom.

"Did you just call me "My"?

"You call me "Kai", You should have a shortened name."

"So "My" is your solution. What about "May"?"

"That's not how your name is pronounced. It's not "May-a". That sounds like "Mayonnaise". That's just dumb."

"Yeah, okay." He's still unpacking, and he has music in the background.

"Did the music bother you?"

"Not really, I wasn't paying attention. I mean, I could hear it, but I wasn't paying attention. I was just bored. I guess I'll be bored for a while." I say sadly.

"The dreads of immortality." He replies.

"Pretty much. I'm in the body of a thirteen-year-old. I can't really amount to much can I?" I sit down on his bed. I look at his trophy shelf. He has played soccer since he was born.

Malachi was talking about something but I wasn't paying attention.

"Maya. Maya! Are you even listening? What are you looking at?"

"Sorry, your trophy was crooked." I pointed to it. I broke the connection when I looked at him. He laughed.

"You're crazy."

"You're only realizing this now? You've known me for 13 years." He sat next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder. "I'm sorry." I say to him.

"You had to fix the trophy, no big deal."

"Not that. I'm sorry about the plane and drive home. I know you weren't trying to get me angry." He took my arm off of my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I should have stopped talking. It was stupid. I wasn't thinking. I wish I could think fast like you can."

My anger flared up. I hit him in the arm and he falls.

"Ow!" He said holding his arm where I hit him.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! When is it going to get into your head that you don't want this?" I stand while he's still on the ground. He stands.

"Sorry." He says with a hint of sarcasm.

"I'm sorry too." I say sympathetically.

"No, you're not." I change the subject back.

"Did I legitimately hurt you?" I pull at his sleeve to see. "There's a bruise, but I think you'll be fine."

"It only hurt in the moment." Neither of us say anything. "School starts in two weeks." He says happily.

"School starts in two weeks." I repeat in a different tone. Nervous.

"Are yo— "

"I'm fine."

"Do you want to come up with a battle plan?"

"Battle plan?" What does that even mean?

"What do you want our strategies to be when you get angry or..."

"Maybe tomorrow. You need some sleep. It's almost midnight."

"You t—. Never mind." I laugh and leave. I walk in my room and pick up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the first time in almost a year. I read in a mix of human and vampire speed.

By chapter four, it's two in the morning. My phone rings. It's Bella.

"Hey." I say lightly.

"Hey, how are you?"

"Fine."

"You don't sound fine." She says.

"I'm fine."

"That is all you ever say. Are actually fine?"

"Yes. Malachi and I were arguing on the plane and in the car. But it's no big deal."

"Is it no big deal or is it a cover story?"

"Bella, it's fine." I say slowly.

"What were you arguing about?"

"Just, school stuff." I say. I'd rather not elaborate.

"Maya?"

"Bella, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, do you miss us?" I stay silent for a moment, questioning what to say.

"I don't not miss you. I feel very... alone."

"And why is that?"

"You're very deceptive, aren't you?"

"You've known me for ten months and you're realizing this now?" I laugh.

"So, we were on the plane and Kai notices that I'm really tense. I keep saying that I'm fine and that he doesn't need to protect me all the time. But I'm glad that if necessary he would be there. Then he said that he does need to protect me because if someone were to say something and I get mad, he wouldn't want me to slaughter the town."

"Oh." It's quiet for a few seconds. "I'm glad you were mad at him."

"My parents heard me yell at him for actually saying that out loud, and wanted to talk to us when we were alone.

"In the car, I said started yelling at Malachi again when my dad brought it up. I said that he should have said nothing and should have ended the conversation.

"One of the great things Kai is that he lets me be mad at him. He doesn't get mad at me in return. He hasn't been afraid of any of this. He wasn't mad at me on the plane, he wasn't mad at me in the car. Or when I hit him in the arm earlier."

"Go back a step." She said. "Why'd you hit him?"

"After I finished unpacking, I went to his room to hang out. I was bored and I said that I would be for a while. He replied by saying "the dreads of immortality". I sat on his bed and he apologized for not thinking. Then he said, "I wish I could think fast like you can"."

"And you hit him because he doesn't understand that he isn't supposed to want this."

"Exactly. That pretty much sums it up." I say. "I've been rereading Harry Potter since then."

"Well, that sums _you_ up _._ " She says. "I'll let you read. Bye"

"See you, Bella." I hang up and lay down on the bed. I wait until the sun comes up.


	10. Why

10- Why

At around five in the morning, my mother wakes up and knocks on my door.

I open the door "Morning Mom."

"Hi, is everything unpacked?" I nod. "Areyou okay?"

"Why does everyone keeps asking me that? First Kai, then Bella, and now you. I'm fine. You don't need to keep asking."

"Sorry, I guess I'm the one who isn't fine. I'm just nervous about when school starts."

"Let's not worry about that right now. Kai and I are going to be together and it'll be okay."

"Okay, you're right. I'm just paranoid. How was your night?"

"I read Sorcerer's Stone again, Bella and I talked for a few minutes, I watched the sun rise... Wasn't really climactic."

"Well, I'm going for a run, I'll be back soon." I nod. "Bye." I close the door. I hear her sigh as she walks down the hall.

I continued in Sorcerer's Stone and when I finished I hear a knock on my door.

"Hey, Kai." I Then start to whisper. "How's your bruise?" I take his arm. It's still a little dark. "Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"

"It only hurt in the moment. I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"I was wondering if I could invite some of my friends over today."

"Isn't that something you'd ask Mom?" I say laughing, I know where he's going with this.

"I just wanted to run it past you so that you wouldn't be surprised when five humans will be in close proximity to you."

"Five?" I stutter. "Kai, you're inviting five people over?"

"I don't have to."

"No, this'll be fine. It'll be good practice. Who are you inviting?"

"Sam, Ray, Ethan, Alex, and Nick." Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

"Nick? You're inviting Nick?"

"I know that he's been mean in the past, but according to the guys he's grown a lot in the past year."

"Nick has called me stupid and said that I would never amount to anything. He said I was worthless. He said that I would die alone. He was wrong about that last one."

"Maya, I know. If he says anything today, I give you permission to rip his head off and kill him." This is the kind of thing that would make me hit him again, but all I do is smile and laugh. "That's my baby sister everyone."

"I'm not your baby sister!"

"I'm older than you."

"By six minutes." I'm still laughing.

"It makes a difference." Neither of us say anything. He hugs me tight in the doorway.

"Don't say it."

"You're really cold." He said it.


	11. Uncomfortable

11- Uncomfortable

Kai and I are sitting on the steps in front of the door waiting for his friends to arrive. I hear the car approach and I immediately get nervous. Kai notices me.

"Dare I ask?"

"Why must they always come together?" I ask him.

"To conserve energy." He says sarcastically. He pauses. "We carpool when we all hang out."

"It's just a lot at one time." The car is still coming down the street, almost at our house.

"I thought you said they were here."

"I can hear the car approaching, that doesn't mean they're here." The car stops. "Now they're here."

"You ready?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Too bad." He got up and opened the door.

"Hey man." Ray said and hugged Kai. "How was Washington?" I internally laugh.

"Fine, I'm glad I'm back though." Everyone came in and saw me sitting on the steps. Nick was last.

"Woah, Maya. You look different."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult Nick? Coming from you, I assume it's an insult." I say to him. I love when I can be mean to him.

"She speaks. That's a first." He breathes a laugh and turns to Kai. "You wanna go upstairs?" I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, let's go." They start up the steps and run past me quickly. I hold my breath to restrain myself. They go to Kai's room and I go to mine. I listen to their conversation. Obviously.

"Seriously Kai, what happened to Maya? She's really different." Nick said.

"What do you mean different?" Malachi asked. Ethan beat Nick to it.

"She's hot."

"Dude, that's my sister." Kai responded.

"If you say anything Malachi, I will murder you." I say quietly out loud.

"Nothing happened, you just didn't see her for a year."

"I feel like the crash would have done the opposite." Alex said like Kai wasn't even there.

"Um, hello?" Kai said.

"Not to mention she stood up to you, Nick." Sam said, the five of them continue to act like Kai isn't there.

"Yeah, Crazy got herself a voice." Nick responded. I scoff and think of ways to figuratively kill him.

"Don't call her crazy." Kai said defensively. They seem to not notice.

"I just don't get it. How do you go from boring Maya to extremely hot Maya?" I can't believe they're saying this.

"Will you stop talking about my twin sister behind her back?!" Kai yelled at them. I can tell that he stood up.

"Maybe not behind her back." Ethan said.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked.

"How much you wanna bet she has her ear to the door right now?" Ethan whispered.

"Nothing. Here, I'll show you." He walked to the door and opened it. "No Maya."

"Then why are you getting so defensive about it?" Nick asked. "If she can't hear, what's the damage?"

"You're right, no damage. It's not like your saying how hot my baby sister is after you haven't seen her in a year or anything." Kai said. "What do you mean "no damage"? I'm hearing it, and twin telepathy." He stutters on the last few words. I'm really glad that he's standing up for me.

"Fine, we'll stop. But, only if Maya comes and hangs out with us." No. Absolutely not. Why does Nick hate me so much? I never did anything.

"If she comes in here, you're gonna make fun of her, aren't you?"

"No. Swear to God." He replied. Malachi Joseph Stevens, I swear if you—

"Fine." I'm going to kill him.

He leaves his room and the guys laugh. I open my door right before he knocked. I grab his wrist and yank him in my bedroom. I shut the door.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I ask quietly.

"You've been listening? And, ow."

"No, duh!" I say slightly louder. "Yeah "he's grown a lot in the past year" all right."

"Maya, I'm sorry but I couldn't listen to them say that anymore."

"So, you decided to torture me instead?" My voice raising.

"Quiet down, they might here you." I don't care. "I swear, it won't be long."

"It better not." I walk out of the room quickly and Kai follows. He's holding his wrist where I grabbed it.

I open the door. "According to Kai you want me to hang out with you guys?" I ask like I'm oblivious to their conversation. "I thought you didn't like me."

"Well, Kai is our friend and I think it's time for us to learn a bit about his twin sister." Even if I hadn't heard the conversation, I'd know he was lying.

"You know me." I will do anything in my power to leave.

"We know the gist, but who is the _real_ Maya, I don't know your middle name, Stevens? What are your secrets? What are your passions?" Answers: Andrea; vampire; killing you.

"My middle name is Andrea. My passions include reading, writing, and Harry Potter. You will never know my secrets because they are secrets and if I tell you they won't be." I say still standing in the doorway. "Are we done now?"

"Not quite." Why? "Sit down. Just hang out with us." Kai looks at me apologetically. I give him my death stare.

Sorry Nick, but I can't sit with you because I need to focus on figuring out a way to kill you. "Fine." Wow I'm stupid.

After a few hours, the guys leave and Kai closes the door. I'm standing behind him with my arms crossed.

"Well, that could have gone better." He said sympathetically.

"It could've gone a lot better. My main focus was obstructing my eyes from your ceiling fan so I wouldn't will it on his head." I say agitated.

"I'm sorry, Maya. I know I said it wouldn't be long, but— "

"But you couldn't say no, I get it." I say in a sarcastic tone.

"Actually, I was going to say that technically you were the one who said okay." He replied.

"Fine, you win this one." I walk upstairs.


	12. Right vs Easy

12- Right vs. Easy

I haven't even thought about where to hunt. I don't live near a large forest. There's a small one behind my house, but there are a lot of humans who live there.

The closest forest to where I live is in Virginia. I don't know how I'm going to get there without being seen by people.

A few minutes later, Malachi knocks on my door.

"Come in, Kai." I say to him. I'm sitting on my bed playing with a Rubik's cube.

He opens the door. "How'd you know it was me?" He asked.

"Everyone has a certain scent. Also, you knock the same way every time."

"Oh." He closes the door. "You seem to be thinking about something."

"The closest forest is in Virginia."

"Okay?"

"I need to hunt Kai. How do I even get there from here?"

"Run."

"Thanks Sherlock."

"What answer were you looking for?"

"How do I get there without being seen? I know to do it at night, but there are people out at night."

"Call the Cullen's. Ask for advice."

"No, I already feel guilty about earlier. Calling them would be too much."

"Fine, I'll call them." Kai said grabbing my phone off of my desk.

"What? Kai!" He turns away as I try to grab the phone from his ear. I don't need to make full eye-contact with an object to move it, so I will the phone from his hand.

It hovers in the air. Kai grabs for it, but I'm faster than him. I raise it so that he can't reach it. I hear Bella on the other line.

"Maya?" I underestimated his jumping skills, he grabbed it.

"Ha ha." He said defiantly. He put the phone to his ear. "Hey, Bella. Here's Maya." He handed me the phone.

"Hi Bella." I stutter.

"Why did Kai answer?"

"I didn't want to call because I felt guilty, so he stole my phone."

"You don't have to feel guilty if you call. What's up?"

"It's stupid. Kai was the one who wanted me to call you. I'll figure it out."

"If you have questions, just ask."

"It doesn't matter. I'll figure it out. This is Malachi's fault."

"Are you 100% positive; because there's no shame in asking."

"It's no big deal. Sorry." I hang up. "Thanks Kai."

"Are you mad?"

"No, you were only trying to help." I say slowly.

"Obviously, I was unsuccessful." He paused. I stay silent. "You still need a solution."

"I know, and very soon." I say slowly. I haven't hunted for a week, and my throat is on fire. (Carlisle told me to hunt before I left, but I was fine.) Kai sees what I'm implying.

"I can leave." He says sympathetically.

"No, stay. Just, don't come in close contact." I say. He has good ideas, so maybe he can help.

"Okay." He sat down on the carpet, his legs crossed. "You need ideas."

"Yes. How do I get from here to Virginia without being seen?"

"How far away is it?"

"172 miles." I say guiltily, biting my lip.

"You- You know there's a forest right behind you." He said pointing out of my window.

"In which people live and none of the animals would be satisfying." I say laughing.

"I know, I was going for sarcasm. Did that not come off well?"

"No."

"So, Virginia is the closest?"

"I'm in between three forests, though. Allegheny in Pennsylvania; Monongahela in West Virginia; and Shenandoah in Virginia.

"Shenandoah is closest by over 100 miles, but the animals are okay. Monongahela is the farthest at 276 miles. But, the animals are great. I can cut Allegheny because it's far and the animals suck."

"So, good but really far, or close but not so good?"

"Yeah. That is my current debate. Then the question is how I get there."

After a moment Kai replies "I think you should go the extra hundred miles."

"Really?" I genuinely ask.

"If you are going to get the best food, then yes."

"I think you're right." He suddenly changed the subject.

"Why did you do so much research?"

"I had to. You see, I have this condition where I need to live off of blood." We both laugh. "How do I get to Monongahela?"

"Dig an underground tunnel." Malachi said.

"Realistic answers only." I reply.

"At night, go to an obscure place with no people and go from there. There are trees everywhere around here. Connect the dots."

"I guess I can try. Monongahela and Shenandoah kind of connect, so that part will be easy. Getting to the other side of Maryland is the hardest part."

"We can move to Garrett county." I laugh.

"I need to go tonight."

"I noticed. Your eyes are going black."

"The sun'll go down in three hours, I'll go then."


	13. Hunting

13- Hunting

At seven o'clock, the sun started to set. I go through the back yard and into the trees. I walk until it's dark completely. I start running. My mom told me to keep my phone with me in case I got lost. I know I probably won't, but I don't want her to worry.

I calculated that it would take me about three hours to get to Monongahela. I'd get there around eleven, finish around midnight, then be back around three.

I keep running and running, never losing my breath. I've always loved running, even as a human. The wind in my hair, leaving everything behind me. The trees surrounding me never leave.

After an hour and a half, I'm in Virginia. Shenandoah. I agree with Kai's decision, there is practically nothing here. Nothing predatory, just trees.

I keep running. Another ninety minutes pass, I'm in Monongahela. I stop running. I find a tree stump and put my phone on it. I've been running with it in my hands, but when I hunt, it's not a good idea.

I start running again, starting to sense the different creatures around. I stop. A bobcat is two miles away. I run in its direction. I run silently, when I see it I stop.

I hide behind a tree to ensure that it doesn't see me. It turns its head. It can smell me, it's time.

It starts for me, I start for it. I jump on top of the bobcat and it falls to the ground. I sink my teeth into its neck. I win.

Its blood is gone and I stand not yet satisfied. My throat still burns and I hear another bobcat nearby. This one's larger and smells much better than the first.

I run in its direction silently. It stops moving. It's head jerks up in my direction. I start up the tree I'm hiding behind. The bobcat oblivious to my movements. It walks away.

After it moves thirty feet, I jump out of the tree and fall on top of it. Its blood was sweet, and dry within seconds.

For good measure, I look for something else. A deer was about two miles east. I go for the straight kill this time. I feel satisfied when it's blood is gone.

When a vampire hunts, it's a fulfilling feeling. You've served your purpose. I've served mine.

I head back to where I left my phone. It's still on the stump where I left it. It's just after midnight and I head home in the direction I came. I go in the same directions and turns so that I make it home.

When I'm back in the woods behind my house, it is 2:30 in the morning. The lights are still on in my house.

There are only three people in there, no new scent. Is my family waiting for me?

I walk in through the back door and I see them all sitting at the kitchen table.

"Have you been waiting for me?" I ask them. Mom is almost asleep in her hand when she responded.

"Just wanted to make sure you made it home okay. I was a little worried."

"I said that I would be home around three. You didn't have to wait."

"I know, but just wanted to make sure."

"Mom, go to sleep. Dad, go to sleep. Kai, go to sleep."

"Done." Kai said standing quickly slamming his hand on the table. He walks upstairs and closes the door.

"Goodnight, you don't need to stay up again. You didn't need to stay up this time. But, if you had to, you had to."

"Goodnight, Maya." Mom said.

I walked upstairs and sat on my bed and wait for tomorrow.


	14. Impossibility

14-Impossibilty

The first day of school came quicker than I thought it would. The night before the fifth I hunt extra for good measure. I'd been panicking since then. My hand was tapping against my desk all night. It was so fast and hard that I had to keep fixing the dents.

When we left the house, Kai was next to me the entire time. We walked to the end of the street for the bus.

It was cloudy that day, so I'd be okay. I still wore long pants and a sweatshirt. I hope no one thinks I'm crazy. You know, wearing clothes meant for cool weather in 85° heat. But, I honestly don't care.

"You'll be fine. Just... put your focus on something else."

"And how do you expect me to do that?"

"I don't know, I don't have your head."

We were the only ones at the bus stop, but people will show up any moment now. My throat isn't burning yet, but I know it'll happen soon.

I hear people approaching and I turn my head.

"Relax. Nothing is going to happen." He reassured me. Well, tried to. Three people came together. They're new to the neighborhood.

"Hi," The oldest one said after a minute. She was tall with dark, curly hair. "I'm Maddy. Are you guys new to the neighborhood? I haven't seen you around."

"I'm Malachi, this is my sister Maya. We've lived here for years, but we moved to Washington state for a while." I didn't want to move because I didn't know what would happen.

"A chorus of "M" s. This is my sister Lilly and our friend Alexa." They both waved. I stay the same. Maddy's smile faded slightly. She must think I'm crazy. "I hope we can be friends." She said to the both of us but I can tell she was indicating towards Kai.

"Sorry about Maya, she's very shy." That's a good way to sum it up. "We're twins."

"That's cool. What teams are you on?"

"We're both on 8-2, Ms. Simmons home room."

"What a coincidence, me too. They're both in sixth grade." She said turning towards Lilly and Alexa. The bus arrives. It's just the five of us there. "See you there." She walks on the bus. Her sister and friend follow. We get on last. The three of them sit in the front while Kai and I head for the back. We sit in seat 17. Fortunately, we were the first stop so we get first pick at seats. I'm at the window, Kai at the aisle.

"She seems nice." Kai said.

"She seems like she was flirting with you."

"No one flirts in the eighth grade. No one knows how to flirt in the eighth grade."

"She knows how." As more people get on the bus, the more conscious I am. By the last stop, every seat is filled and everyone is in their own conversation. My leg starts shaking anxiously.

After a few seconds Kai talks quietly. "Maya, your shaking your leg."

"So? I'm nervous." He leaned in towards my ear. Not for my benefit, but so that others don't hear.

"If anyone saw your leg, they'd know something was up." I didn't even realize that my leg was shaking faster than any human could comprehend.

"Thanks." I slow my leg down to a stop and put my arm on it. My throat is seriously burning. "It's gonna be a long day." We sit in silence the rest of the way.

When we arrive at the school, I'm reluctant to stand up.

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" He asked me like I was in kindergarten.

"I don't feel like breaking you today." I say standing up slowly. He turned around and started down the aisle. I follow.

As we walk into the school he whispered under his breath so only I can hear. "You'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen."

We know where our home room is because we've been going to this school for three years. As we walk in the classroom, I'm slightly relieved. We're the only ones here. Other than Ms. Simmons, who greets us at the door.

"Hi, welcome back. The seats are set alphabetically, what are your names?"

"I'm Malachi Stevens, this is Maya."

"You guys are twins, right?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kai continued. I have a straight face, trying not to make eye contact.

"I hope you'll like it in my class. This is my first-year teaching, so I'm just as nervous as you are." Hate to break it to you, but you cannot be more wrong. I can tell that's she was saying that to me even though she was talking to both of us.

Without turning around, I realize that Maddy has arrived.

"Great, Miss Flirty is back." I say under my breath.

He turns and sees her. "Calm down. It's no big deal."

"Easy for you to say." I say staring forward with my arms crossed. "Come on, we have to go find our lockers." I say standing up and pulling at his sleeve. As we walk pass Maddy she smiles at Kai.

"Hey, Malachi. Maya." She said my name with less enthusiasm. I roll my eyes and wish that I could will him to come on. I nudge his shoulder and he follows.

"I don't like her. Not at all." I say when we find our lockers. There are a lot of people at this point.

"Maya, you don't even know her."

"I know, but I just don't get a good vibe from her."

"Do you _mean_ that, or are you just saying that?"

"I mean it." I say shortly. "I have a weird feeling in my gut when she's around. Something bad is going to happen with her."

"Okay." He said matter-of-factly. We unpacked our things in our lockers and headed back to home room. I see a few familiar faces in the room. Just some acquaintances from years prior. Kai and I compare our schedules and are in all of the same classes.

"How did we get lucky?" I ask him. With Kai in all of my classes, there is a lesser chance of me freaking out. We start with history, then to algebra. We have gym afterwards, with a free period following. Lunch is fifth, sixth being science. The last period of the day is reserved for language arts. For eighth grade, the schedule is very similar to a high school's.

"I may or may not have called the guidance office before school requesting to be in the same classes as you." I internally smile, but I don't let him see that.

"Kai, you didn't have to do that. I would be fine without you."

"Would you?" No, I wouldn't. I stay silent and we wait for the day to start.

By the time the room is full, the entire school is too. My throat is on fire, but not enough to lose control. Which will not happen.

When the bell rings, we stand. In my human life I would take a deep breath, but that isn't a good idea anymore. Instead I hold my breath and walk closely with Kai.

I stare at the ground and let my hair fall down my shoulders. I continue to hold my breath, but it doesn't do much. I haven't been in this much human contact since I was one. All I feel is flame. I'm definitely not ready for this. But I'll make it work. Hopefully.

I make sure that no one bumps into me. A) So, I don't kill them. B) So, they don't feel like they ran into a wall.

When we get to Mr. Greene's, everyone is standing around the room. Mr. Greene was standing in the front of the room taking attendance. Towards the end of the list, Malachi's name was called.

"Here." He said raising his hand. I know I'm next and I internally prepare for movement.

"Maya Stevens." All I do is raise my hand. I say nothing. He looks up from his clipboard questioningly. He sees my hand. "In the future, I'd appreciate it if you'd say something Miss Stevens."

"Here." I say meekly. I know I'm the only one who hears it. I know this teacher is going to be the one to push me off the edge.

As he went down the rest of the list, I'm already done with today. My thirst mixed with my anger is something I have yet to experience. But I know that it is not pretty.

I want to take a breath but I know that if I do someone would be killed. I'm starting to regret my decision of leaving the Cullen's. I'm still technically a new-born whose thirst is at a tipping point. I'm just not ready. But it was my decision, I have to deal with the consequences.

On the first day of school, all of the seating arrangements are alphabetical. His room is arranged in eight tables of four desks. Once everyone is seated, seven of them are filled. Kai and I sit with a guy named Nate whom I recognize from sixth grade, and another guy named Joey. I keep my head down while Mr. Greene goes over class expectations and other stuff like that. I'm listening, but I still look down.

"Miss Stevens. Are you paying attention?" I look up subtly and nod.

"Yes, sir. Sorry." I speak quietly. But I know he can hear me.

I'm now facing forward, but my eyes are still down. I can't stand to look at people's faces, or any of them for that matter. If I see the blood in their veins, or pay attention to their heartbeats, who knows what will happen.

50 minutes later, I celebrate the fact that I don't need to see him again for 24 hours. Kai and I walk to algebra. After torture, I get to go the best class of the day. Math and science are probably my second favorite things. Next to Harry Potter of course.

"How you doing?" Kai asked me.

"Slit my throat, do it right now, I beg you."

"That wouldn't do much." He said slowly. He had a serious tone, but it came off funny.

"You know what I mean. I wish it was dark by the time we get home." By which I mean hunting.

"We aren't that lucky." It's great how comfortable Kai is with all of this. He talks to me as if he's dealt with this himself. Like he is centuries years old. He just gets it. My parents on the other hand, they treat me differently than before.

"But, hey. We're going to math. Your favorite."

I give a small, crooked smile. "Yeah." We walk in. Mrs. Frye is already putting people in seats.

Our luck is officially up. The seats are random, meaning that Kai and I are to be separated. I look at him vaguely as she calls his name and points to his desk. I'm at the next table. I'm very uncomfortable that I'm not with him. He's within eye shot, but now that I'm around people that I'm not as familiar with, the thirst is much more prominent.

It's hard to focus, but I'm listening to every repeated word from Greene's room. The hour passes slowly, and the burning gradually grows.

By the end of class, I'm on fire. I'm surprised I've held out this long.

We leave Frye's room and head towards the gym. We go through the same routine in every class. The same rules, paraphrasing each other's words.

Kai and I have had the same gym teacher all three years. Mr. Spencer knows just about all of us. He kind of sped through the rules because he knows that we're sick of it by now.

For our free period, Kai and I sit by our lockers and just talk.

"Let me guess." He says, I look at him. "Today's been a disaster?"

"100%. I'm really surprised with myself."

"I'm proud of you."

"Thanks?" I say. "That's not something one usually gets from their brother." He laughs, I don't.

"Oh, come on. That was funny."

"Nope, not risking it."

"Okay, fine." He pauses. "Have you taken a breath this entire day?" He asks quietly.

"Nope." Not risking it.

"You're regretting this aren't you?"

"Superlatively." I say.

"You know I don't understand when you use big words." Kai said turning his head to me.

"Yes." I pause momentarily. "How did I think I could do this?" I whisper now. "I'm barely ten months and I'm in a school with 1200 distinctly different humans. You're the only person I can be in contact with without being terrified. I'm still terrified."

"You wanna wait a year?"

"Try a century." Seriously though. "I don't know how they do it."

"I don't know either." He subtly lifts his arm. "Permission to put my arm around you."

"Permission granted." He proceeds and I shudder and he stops.

"Bad idea." He said.

"Really bad idea."

"If we were alone you'd run."

"If we were alone, there'd be no need."

We sat there until lunch talking about random things that don't even matter. When lunch came, I get really nervous.

In years past, you get in trouble if you don't eat. They think you're anorexic or whatever. I don't eat period.

We find a deserted table. I sit on the very end of the row, Kai across from me. Suddenly, trouble arises.

"Little Miss Flirty's back. Perfect."

"Stop saying that, she's fine."

"I'm telling you something bad is going to happen."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you." I say as she sits down next to him.

"You two sure are close, aren't you? I haven't seen you apart all day." She said. I continue not to make eye contact.

"Yeah, we're each other's best friends." They both had a packed lunch with them. I, obviously, had nothing.

"So, we're having a back to school party this weekend. You guys are welcome to come. We're inviting all of our friends. Everyone is sleeping over." She said. She called us her friends. She's know us for three hours.

"Sounds great. We'll be there." Are you kidding me Kai?

"Are you, er, not gonna eat anything?" She asked, gesturing to me.

I look up slightly and say the first (and which I hope are the last) words to her. "No." I stand up.

"Where you going?" Kai asked.

"Bathroom." I say as I walk away. I'm obviously going to be listening to them.

The bathroom is empty and I pace across the floor.

"Is she okay?" Maddy asked. And no. No, I'm not.

"She's fine, she just... isn't good with people." That's one way to put it.

"So, it's not a me thing?"

"Probably not." Yeah, we'll see.

"If you don't mind me asking, is there anything... you know..." Just stop talking, please. "Wrong with her?" Just stop talking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Is there a reason she's this shy? 'Cause, I know human nature, and people aren't generally this... averted to people." Well, I'm not human so...

"Isn't there a reason for everyone? There's always a reason."

"Yeah, what's hers?" Don't blow this.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"So, there is a reason."

"Just, drop it, Maddy." Okay, dangerous territory, I'm coming back.

When I sit back down, she pretends like nothing happened. I look Kai dead in the eye to let him know that I was listening intently.

"So, you'll look at him, but not at me?" I look down again, I can't bear to look at anyone right now.

"That would be correct." Fine, not the last words.

"Why?"

"I'm not good with people."

"So, Malachi says. Care to elaborate?"

"Not particularly." Kai. Help.

"Let me warn you now Maddy. Stop here. She is very strong-willed and you'll never get this out of her. She is very sensitive about this topic. She will claw your eyes out if you keep bringing it up. So, stop here. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200." She looks puzzled. "What, you've never played Monopoly?"

"Sorry, no. I gotta go." She says and gets up. Something in me is relieved.

"Thanks for that."

"What else was I supposed to do? Just say "yeah, she's not good with people because she wants to eat them"? No. I wouldn't sell you out."

"Thanks. Also, say that at little louder, would you?" I pause. "Why did you agree with the party?"

"Because, parties are fun. Also, you need to get to know her. This is a great opportunity to make friends."

"What am I supposed to do all night? Just wait in silence?"

"Just... go hunting?"

"What if someone realizes I'm gone? Or her parents wake up in the middle of the night and check on us?"

"I'll cover for you."

"I'll figure it out."

"Your saying you'll go?"

"It must mean a lot to you if you start babbling."

The rest of the day went exactly the same. Me terrified, and Kai my mouth piece. Maddy was in all of our afternoon classes which drove me crazy.

She walked home with Lilly and Alexa, Kai and I walking about ten feet in front of them.

"What are you thinking about?" Kai asked me.

"I'm dead. I'm actually dead."

"I know. You have been for almost a year."

"I will kill you."

"I know you will."

"Just, stop talking." I say. When we get home, Mom asked us how our day was. Mainly to me.

"Great." Kai said.

"Horrible." I say. I walk upstairs and lay on my bed. I have an urge to break something. Or kill something. I don't know, but I can't believe I have to do this again for eternity.


	15. Complaints

15- Complaints

I never want to go through that again. Stupid law. Bella told me that they didn't go back to school for another week.

I lay on my bed face down when my phone rings. I grasp it and see that it's Bella.

"How do you do this every day?"

"Well, I've been doing this for a century, you've been doing this for a day. Not exactly fair play."

"I don't think my thirst has ever been that high before."

"Didn't you hunt last night?"

"Yeah, but keep in mind that my school has more people in it than in your entire town. So, to use your words, "not exactly fair play"."

"Touché." She replied. "Wasn't Kai with you though? Didn't he help?"

"Of course. But, hold on, Kai is on the other side of the door." He heard me and walked in.

"Hey, Mom wants to talk to you."

"Bye, Bella. I'll be back." I hung up, and walked downstairs.

"So, I hear your day was horrible." She said. She was sitting at the table and I was standing at the counter.

"You hear correctly. I don't know how I thought I could do this."

"You just want to go on life normally. You thought you could handle it. I'm sure it'll be easier tomorrow."

"Let's go with that."

"Anything in particular?"

"No, just the fact that I need to physically restrain myself from killing people."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

"It's fine. There isn't anything you can do. If Kai can barely help, then you probably can't either."

"Thanks." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I just heard it like you did, I'm sorry."

"I know what you meant." She was silent. I was too. It was awkward.

I didn't want to say anything about Maddy, that would get too complicated. All I do is nod. Can I leave? Please?

"Well, I'm going shopping, I'll see you later." She said after a thirty second silence. She gets up and hugs me. For a long time.

"Thanks Mom." I say in a sarcastic tone, but I think she took it seriously. Then she leaves.

I go back upstairs and call Bella back.

"So, what exactly happened today?" She asked.

"I died again."

"Yeah? That makes sense."

"Remind me again why you guys did this to me?" She laughed.

"Okay. What happened today?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time." She said. I don't want to talk about it, but who else am I going to talk to? Kai? He doesn't care.

"Fine." I go through the story, pointing out every little detail. When I'm finished she remained quiet for an awkward moment? "Say something. I'm done."

"You agreed to go to the party?"

"How could I not? Bella, if Kai goes, I can't not go."

"Yes, you can. You don't like this Maddy girl, so don't go."

"But, Kai does." I say. "I'm used to being uncomfortable by now. There are more people in a school than a party."

"But, at a party, there is more communication and risk for bumping into people." I don't want people to think they ran into a wall. Didn't I say this earlier?

"But, it's good experience. Besides, Maddy probably isn't all that bad. I'm just undeniably stubborn."

"Well, everyone knows that, Maya. But, you don't feel right when she's around. Not to mention she's trying to figure you out. Nothing good can come from that." I know. I know. But, I've never been to a real party before. Not in my human life, not ever.

"I have to go. I'll just stay with Kai, and when he falls asleep, I'll just read. Or go home and come back in the morning."

"Woah, whoa, you never said it was a sleepover party."

"I didn't think it was important until I talked about it."

"It changes everything Maya. First off, you'll be sitting all night with who knows how many humans. Second, what'll happen if someone wakes up and sees you sitting in the dark, reading with no light?" She said. We've been talking for an hour and a half. My story was most of it.

"I'll figure it out. Kai said that he would cover me if something happens, so it'll be fine. I have to go. Bye Bella." She responded and hung up.

"Kai, just walk in." I say, he's been outside the door for the entire conversation. He opened the door. "What is it with you and listening to my conversations?"

"You're one to talk." Yeah, I know.

"I have an excuse, what's yours?"

"Hold on, what's yours?" Isn't it obvious?

"I needed to hear what Maddy would say to me behind my back. With the guys, you may have a point, but I'm glad I was. Your turn."

"Okay, you win." He said after a moment. "You really don't trust Maddy?"

"No." I say plainly. It's true. I don't trust her. She just waltzed into our lives and I can tell she'll become an important one. But not in a good way. "But I'll deal with it if you do. I don't want to be the reason you don't make friends."

"I think she is trustworthy. She may be snoopy, but I think she'll stop."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"No, but we shouldn't judge off of first impressions." He pauses. "You're actually going to the party?"

"Yes."


	16. Frozen

16- Frozen

If day one was difficult, day two was even harder. I know Maddy will be hanging out with us, and I'll have to associate with her. I hunted extra that night and that makes me feel better. But then again, I thought the same thing before the first day.

"New day, how you feeling?" Kai said to me as we walked to the bus stop. It was again cloudy, and I again looked like a maniac.

"Scared. A) Maddy. B) School C) Gym class."

"Why are you afraid of gym? You'll be good at everything." He pauses. "You're afraid that you'll be too good." It wasn't a question.

"I don't know how to control my... you know... physical advantages." I can't say it. Out loud at least. "It's too late to escape from it." We were approaching the end of the street. Maddy, Lilly, and Alexa were already there.

"Just relax, today will go smoother than yesterday." He said.

"Yeah, what do you know?" I ask once we arrive.

"Hey, I see you're talking." Maddy says.

"I talk." She sounds like Nick. "You're talking to me, not just Kai."

"I talked to you yesterday." She said walking over to us, leaving her sister and friend.

"Yeah, but it was obvious that you were talking to Kai rather me." We'll see how today goes.

"We talked about this last night, Maya." Kai said. We didn't really talk about it. Just the fact that Maddy and I secretly hate each other. For her it's a secret at least.

"I know, but I feel like I need to prepare for Friday. I need to be comfortable with at least two people at a party."

"Oh, you guys are coming?"

"Yeah, we have never been to a real party before." Kai said.

"Really? I'm actually really surprised by that." She said genuinely.

"Did you see me yesterday? I barely looked up from my desk." I say when the bus arrives. I walk on, Kai close behind me. Maddy comes to the back with us. I thought me being "mean" would do the opposite.

I sit down, and Kai whispers so only I can hear, "What are you doing?"

"Some days I'm overconfident, most days I'm... not." I say under my breath. He gives me a glare. "What, it's true." I turn to the window and Kai talks across the aisle to Maddy.

The day went smoothly until gym.

"Okay. For our warmup we'll be doing a three-minute jog around the field. Then come back to the lines and ten curl ups and push-ups." Mr. Spencer said to us. "But first, grab a partner to save time."

"Now what?" Kai asked quietly. "How do you not run... the way you do?"

"I don't know. I tried last night, but I don't know how it went." I said. The Cullen's taught me how to walk slow. Not run slow. "It was so uncomfortable." Walking alone is difficult. Running is going to be so much harder.

"Go!" Spencer shouted.

I run... slowly. I think. Kai is going faster than me at least. I don't remember how I used to run. When I'm half way around the field, I hear, "Stevens' you gotta pick it up!" He yells. Kai was still with me, so I guess he was talking to both of us.

"Can you try to run faster?" Kai asked. I try to go faster and I feel myself speed up.

"No." When the three minutes are up, I get nervous again. How do I look like I'm panting, without breathing? My solution is to pretend to take my pulse, and to lay down for the curl ups.

The muscular strength part of gym is easy. Unfortunately, in my human life, I wasn't the most athletic. Meaning that I can't go from only doing five push-ups, to maxing the system. It's unrealistic. People will ask questions.

I need to figure out how to run slow. Maybe Kai could help me? But how? I feel like the best place to do it would be in the woods. But Kai can't come hunting. That would put him in danger. He will know. I'll ask later.

The rest of class was fine. The rest of the day was uncomfortable, of course, but fine. Maddy sat with us at lunch. I really don't like her.

When she sat down, I went back to looking down and not communicating.

"Hey, guys." She said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, you?" Kai asked her.

"Nothing." She turned to me. "I see your back to your alter ego." Just go away, please.

"Yeah, she has her twists and turns." He pauses. "But she's fine."

"I hope so, you'll need energy for Friday night." I'm only going to this party for Kai. I don't want to go. But I will. "By the way, my mom wanted to ask you want your favorite foods were. She's a people pleaser."

"Pizza's fine with me. Maya?" He asked. They both look at me. Kai looks concerned.

"I don't know, anything in moderation?" Is that a reasonable answer? I talk very monotone, still looking down.

"You're not eating again?" She asks me.

"Not hungry." Technically it's true.

"Thirsty?" Oh, very much. However, they don't sell my beverage here. I hear a faint snigger on Kai's behalf. "What?" She asked Kai. She must of heard him.

"Nothing." Don't ask any more questions Maddy. The two of them talk throughout the period, I remain silent.

When Kai and I walk home, we find Dad on the couch with a piece of paper in his hand. He looked to be crying.

"Dad? Are you okay?" I ask. I run towards him slowly (for me at least, fast for a human). Kai closed the door behind us and followed me.

"It's Liz." This is serious. He normally would say 'It's your Mom' or something to that extent. But no. He addressed her like a friend he was really close with. Somethings happening. He handed me the note and I read it instantly.

 _To My Family,_

 _I love you all, so much. Nothing could change that. But, with everything that's happened since November, I just can't take handle it. Tim, not one day has passed since we met that I didn't love you. I still do. Malachi, you've always been the most compassionate and loyal person I've ever met, and I've always acknowledged that. I love you. Maya, don't think this is your fault. It isn't, it's mine. I admire your strength. In all forms. Don't put this on your shoulders. I know you will, but please do not. I love you Maya. That never changed. I hope to see you all one day. Now is just not the time. I'm deeply, truly sorry._

 _Love Elizabeth Stevens._

I handed it to Kai. If I were able, tears would be streaming. She said it isn't my fault. How can it not be. Me being a vampire is too much for her to handle, it's my fault.

Kai is in tears. Dad is in tears.

I am still. We all are. We stay still and silent until the sun goes down. When it's dark I'm the first one to move. I walk quickly and when I open the door, they realized I've moved.

"Maya."


	17. Lost

17- Lost

"Maya." Kai's voice cracked when he said it. When I was out of the yard, I ran full speed towards Monongahela.

When I arrived a few hours later, I get my phone out and call the Bella. Carlisle picks up the phone.

"Hello Maya." He said.

"Hey, is everyone there?" I ask. I need to tell them all at once, I can't say it more than once.

"Edward, Bella, and Ness are hunting. Why?" He says.

"Can you call me when everyone's there?" I ask.

"Sure." I hang up. I don't hunt yet. I'll wait until after I tell them. I sit by a tree in a fetal position.

I wait a few minutes and I imagine what would happen if she were here. She would probably come up and say the first words. I would stay silent and let her talk.

"I thought I would find you here." She would say.

"Why are you here?" I'd ask her. I don't look at her. I just stare forward while she was to my left.

"I need to apologize." She said.

"For what? Leaving? Or not being able to handle me?" I ask her.

"All of it. You have every right to be mad at me. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to kill me." She said.

"I would never kill you Mom. You're one of the most important people in my life." I would say to her. The call interrupted my imagination. I'm somewhat grateful.

"Maya, are you okay?" Carlisle asked when I picked up.

"No." I pause. They're silent too. "My Mom left." I said the last word after a few seconds. "Kai and I came home and saw Dad crying at the kitchen table with a note. We read it and... She left." They're speechless. "She said couldn't handle it anymore."

"Maya, I'm so sorry." Esme said sympathetically. "Do you want us to come?"

"No." I said quickly. "I just needed to tell you guys." They don't need to come, it would make things worse. "We stood there for hours in silence. When it was dark I took off."

"You took off? What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"After hours of silence I left out the back door and just ran. Now I'm here." Not that difficult a concept.

"You're going back, right?" Nessie asked.

"Of course, but I just needed to leave. I never really noticed until I turned, but I always run away from my problems. Now that I actually can, I do."

"We're sorry Maya. That's just horrible." Carlisle said. This isn't the situation where you would say 'it's okay' or 'you have nothing to be sorry for'. Both of those are true, but this isn't the time to say it.

"I thought she was fine. This is all my fault." I practically whisper the last words.

"It's not your fault Maya." Esme said. "These things are never the child's fault."

"But it is my fault. It was my idea to tell her. They were probably better off thinking I was dead. We never should have told them."

"You were right to tell them. You deserve it."

"What I deserve is the blame. You guys were right. It was stupid and reckless. If we didn't tell them, they and you wouldn't be in danger of the Volturi. They could mourn. Mom wouldn't have left, and Kai and Dad wouldn't be heart broken." This is all my fault. They stayed quiet. "I have to go. If I don't head back home soon, the sun will be up." I hung up without regard for a response.

I don't think I'm going home tonight. I think I'm going to stay here for a while. I don't know. Then there is Maddy. If she knows that I'm gone, she'll ask questions. But, Kai knows better than to tell her. Right?

I'll just stay here for now. Maybe go back when my phone dies. Do I _need_ to go back? Is that abselutly necessary? Eventually. I'll probably go back later tonight. I don't know yet.

I'll wait and see where my legs take me. I'll wait.

I don't hunt. I just sit. I find the tree stump that I usually leave my phone on, and sit. I just feel empty. And angry. And scared. Mom left. I may never see her again. She said that we would, but generally, when people leave, they don't come back.

I see the sun come up after a while. I haven't moved in hours. I guess I'm not going to school today. The Cullens haven't called. Neither has Kai or my Dad. I wish I had the ability to cry. If I did, I'd be weeping. I don't know who I'm angrier at; Mom or me.

I'm mad at Mom because she left. She said that she would always be there for us. She said nothing could keep her from accepting me. Clearly, her opinions changed. She promised to take care of me. She promised to take care of Malachi. She promised to take care of Dad. That is the job of a mother. To stay. To be there for us. She didn't.

I'm mad at myself for letting this happen. It is all my fault. I wanted to tell them. But, she couldn't handle it. I was the reason she left. So she can't say that it wasn't my fault, becuase it was. But she doesn't blame me. Even though it is my fault. I can't pretend that it isn't.

I pull my legs back into a fetal position. Then I smell it. An unfamiliar scent. But a human. I turn my head slightly. He sees me.

"Little girl?" He calls to me. Then I act as if I notice him now. I stay sitting. But I put my legs down and my hands behind me. I put a surprised look on my face. "Are you lost?" He asked sympathetically.

"No." I say quietly, but he hears me. The man walked towards me. I should have hunted last night.

"You look really scared. Are you okay." He said as he approached the stump. I turn back to the fetal position. I don't let him see my face.

"That depends. If I tell you the truth then you would stay. If I lie you would probably stay. I'm not a good liar." He walked in front of me and squated down.

"Did you run away?" He asked.

"You could say that." Can _you_ run away?

"Do you live far? I can take you home." He offered. The point of running away is not going home.

"Don't take me home. I live far away and they know where I am." Kai probably knows at least. He's smart enough to figure it out.

"I should take you home. If you walked here, it can't be that far." Stop having so much dignity.

"I've been walking for a long time." I finally look at him. He looks surprised at my face. It's probably the eyes. Or the features themselves. Stupid vampire beauty.

"I should get you home." He went to pat my shoulder. I talk quickly before he can get to me.

"Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me." I stand up.

"Wow, you talk fast." Oops.

"Can you just leave? People run away becuase they want to be alone." I almost yell at him. I don't know this guy. He could be a murderer for all I know. Not that that would do anything, but it could reveal my secret.

"Look, you can die out here. Do you know what kind of animals live out here?" I kill the animals who live out here.

"Yes. I come here all the time. It's not a big deal." I'm still standing. We are about five feet apart.

"I need to get you home. Where do you live?" No.

"Why should I tell you? I don't know anything about you. Why are you so stubborn?" I ask him.

"I could say the same thing about you. If something happened to you, and I knew something... I couldn't live with myself."

"Why? You don't know anything about me. For all you know, I could be a figment of your imagination." Neither of us say anything. "Why are you out here anyway? What's your reason?" I ask.

"I like to come out here to escape the world." Interesting.

"Sounds familiar." I cross my arms. "Are you okay? Do you need me to walk you home?" I say sarcastically. "What makes me different then you?"

"You're a kid. You can die out here." He said. At least he's not a sexist pig.

"I'm not weak. I can take care of myself. You sound like my brother." I say. This is the plane home all over again.

"When was the last time you ate? You're very pale." You're funny.

"Why do you care? I'm not your daughter." I say. Am I allowed to walk away?

"You didn't answer the question." He said. I haven't ate since November. But I guess I'll answer.

"Few days back." I say. Technically it's true.

"You need to eat something and I need to get you home." He said.

"You are not my dad! I don't need your help! Just back off!" I'm so thirsty right now. "I'm not going with you, so stop trying." We can do this all day. The sun is behind the clouds, I'm wearing protective clothing.

"You can't survive here alone." He said.

"You don't know what I'm capable of. I'm a lot stronger than I look. I am 100% positive that I would survive out here a lot longer than you would." I'm not wrong.

"How do you know?" He asked me.

"I have my reasons."

"I can call the police and they can take you home." Is this blackmail?

"I can call the police and I can tell them that you're harassing me." He looks concerned. "Two can play at this game." I'm done. I start to walk away. The sun looks like it's about to come out.

"I can't just let you leave!" He called after me. I keep walking.

"Too bad!" I yell back. I put my hood up and put my hands in my pocket. I take my phone out and shut it off. The man continued to follow me. I turned to him. "What is your problem!? I am fine. I've been trained in survivalism. You don't need to worry about someone you've known for twenty minutes. Nobody has that much pride. Just go home!" I yell. Okay, I haven't been trained as a survivalist, but I just need him to leave. "I'm going to be here for a while and you've already spent a night here. I won't have you do another one with me."

"How did you know I spent the night here?" He asked.

"Logic." I number off the reasons with my fingers. "You have a backpack. Your hair is messy. You found me at the crack of dawn. Your clothes are wrinkled. And the way your backpack is positioned, it is clear that there isn't anything in there but water bottles and food." He's speechless. "So, how'd I do?"

"What are you a detective?"

"Not a licensed one." I crossed my arms again. "What'll it take for you to leave me alone?"

"Look, I care a lot about kids. I can't let them voluntarily get hurt."

"First off, I'm not a kid. Second, I'm not going to get hurt. I know how to deal with the creatures out here. Now, go home to your wife." I turn around again.

"Okay, how do you know I'm married?!" He asked. I start laughing. It is so obvious.

"You have a wedding ring on." I say slowly.

We continued to argue for hours as he followed me to the vicinity of nothing.


	18. Malachi

18- Malachi

 _Malachi's POV_

"Maya." My voice cracked when I said it. Dad stood up and swore under his breath. He's still crying slightly. I am too. "She thinks it's her fault."

"But it isn't." Dad said.

"That doesn't matter to her. She thinks it's her fault." I repeated.

"Should we call her?" He asks. When it comes to Maya, I know her best.

"No. She'll ignore us. She'll probably be back by morning. If she's not, then we can worry. She's probably hunting."

"You should get to bed, Kai." He says to me. I walk upstairs. I'm not going to sleep. It'll be impossible.

I sit on the bed and stare at the ceiling. I start crying again. I need to talk to someone. I grab my phone and go to the first person I see on my text messages. Nick.

He picks up after the third ring. "Hey Kai."

"Hey." I say in a quivering voice.

"Are you crying?" He asked me.

"Well, my Mom left so... Yes. I am crying." I don't know how else to say it.

"She left?" He said. Please don't make a joke out of this. I know he will, but maybe he won't.

"Yes." I say. My voice cracked. My tears are falling to my shirt and I press my hand to my eyes.

"Left as in abandon, or as in grocery shopping?" He made a joke out of it.

"Would I be crying if she went to the store? She abandoned us!" I yell at him.

"Sorry dude. That sucks." It's only 8:00, but I'm exhausted. I hang up on him. I change my mind, I want to be alone. Maya had the right idea.

I turn my light off and put some pajamas on. I fall face down on my pillow and fall asleep within minutes.

When I wake up the next morning, I go to Maya's room to see if she came back. I open her door and find it deserted.

I go downstairs and find my dad passed out drunk on the couch. He usually doesn't drink, but it doesn't surprise me. I write him a note to tell him that I went to school.

 _Went to school. Maya didn't come back last night, so when I get home we should find her. I think I might know where she is. Feel better. -Kai_

I leave the house and find Maddy and her sister and friend waiting.

"Where's Maya?" She asked me. I'm not going to say she ran off. That'll freak her out. Just make up an excuse.

"She got sick last night and can't come." I try to put on a brave face. I'm not going to tell her about Mom. I don't want sympathy or pity.

"That sucks. I guess it's just you and me." She said. Maddy and I haven't gotten a good chance to talk yet. Maya kept getting in the way. Not that I'm complaining... Okay, maybe I'm complaining a little. I just hope that she doesn't ask about Maya. I have good ideas, but I'm not the best at excuses.

When we got on the bus, we sat in the same seat. It's weird to be here without Maya. I feel like half of a whole. I'm incomplete. It's even worse with Mom gone.

I just don't get it. How can she just leave us? Now? Maddy and I don't talk until we get to school.

"Are you okay? You seem really upset." She said. Come on Kai, excuse time. Use Maya's.

"I'm fine." Maya always says she's fine when she isn't. Maddy doesn't know that though.

"You don't seem fine. You seem... shaken." No kidding.

"Sorry, it's just weird with Maya not here. We aren't really ever apart."

"I've noticed." She laughed.

We go to our lockers and home room. The day went smoothly, it was just awkward. I feel alone without Maya here. Neither of us really ever gets sick, so this is a rare occurrence. I am never allowed to get sick again. Maya needs me here. She says she doesn't, but she does. I guess I need her as much as she needs me. In different ways, but still the same. She needs me to keep her in control. I need her to keep me sane.

The morning was harder than the afternoon. Maddy isn't in any of my morning classes, so I'm alone. I'm no good alone. The hardest period was free. Maddy was in art while I was sitting at my locker. Alone. I get my phone out and try Maya.

 _Are you okay? Please come back. Don't worry, I haven't told Maddy a thing. I said you were sick and couldn't come. She realized that I was shook, but I used your excuse. "I'm fine". I'm in free period, so call me if you can. BTW, Dad and I might come and get you if you don't come home soon. Haven't decided yet._

I don't get a response. She probably turned her phone off. I don't know what I was expecting. She always ignores me when she's upset. She ignores everyone.

Alex is in free period right now. I'll text him.

 _Maya's sick. I'm alone. Help me._

 _Where's your locker?_ He said. I tell him where I am and he comes.

"So, when Maya is gone, you come to me?"

"You're the only other person I know in free period right now." He sits next to me.

"Hey," He paused. "Nick told me about your mom. I'm sorry." He said sympathetically.

"Lets not talk about that. I don't want to talk about it." I say. Of everyone, Alex would be the one to listen to this. He changes the subject.

"Who's that girl you've been talking to?" How does he know about Maddy?

"What girl?"

"The one I saw you with this morning. It obviously wasn't Maya." He said.

"Maddy. She's new to our neighborhood." I said. It isn't something to hide.

"I think I know her. She's in my gym class. Tall, dark curly hair, kind of nosy." Don't let Maya hear that. According to her, she is really _really_ nosy. I don't blame her. Maddy was trying to figure her out. I really hope she doesn't do that today. Maya isn't here to know. I'm not giving in though. I just need to make good excuses.

"Yeah, Maya does not like her. She thinks that Maddy tries to flirt with me. I mean, I don't know if she is. But, maybe."

"Then go out with her. If you like her." Alex says.

"But Maya really doesn't like her."

"Who cares what Maya thinks? Since when does she control your life?" I know. But it matters. It would be the same way the other way around. But, if I'm being honest, she wouldn't let anyone go out with her. But it does matter. If Maya doesn't like her then who knows what could happen. I mean, when Nick comes over she needs to restrain herself from killing him. It could very well be an exageration, but she probably wouldn't lie about that.

When lunch came, Maddy sat across rather beside me. I'm really nervous about my excuses. They're kind of pathetic.

"Hey. You still seem really upset. What happened?" She asked me.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it. Talking about it would make it all worse." Please work.

"You can tell me, I won't tell anyone." It didn't work. "Kai." She said softly.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm not going to, so just let it go." I say. I need to avoid the subject.

"How can I let it go? You look like someone was murdered." She said. No one was murdered, but it felt like someone died.

"It's nothing." I say.

"Is it because Maya isn't here? That would be weird." She said to me. But, it's kind of true. I think I know where she is, but I could be wrong.

"No. Can we talk about anything else?" I ask. I am begging you to change the subject. Please.

"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know."

The rest of the school day went smoothly. Maddy didn't bring up Maya, or what was wrong, again.

When I got home, Dad was at the kitchen table waiting.

"She never came back." Maya or Mom? I shouldn't ask that. I'll take the Maya approach.

"I think I know where Maya is, but it'll take a while to get there." I say.

"Where? I'm not really worried, I know she's fine. But, I need her to come back." Dad said. We never told Mom or Dad where she hunted, so this is a big reveal.

"Monongahela, West Virginia." I say meekly.

"West Virginia?" He asked surprised. "Why does she go so far?"

"Because it's the closest place for her to... You know." I say. I won't mention the argument we had over Pennsylvania, Virginia, and WV. It doesn't matter.

"Let's go." He said as we left.


	19. Impatience

19- Impatience

"Look, buddy. We've been doing this for hours. I'm not coming with you. Nothing you say could make me. I'm very strong-willed and committed. Just leave." I say the the man. It's about ten in the morning and this guy hasn't given in.

"I'll stay until you come. I'm not letting you get hurt." He says.

"I'm not going to get hurt!" Just let it go. I'm getting angry. And thirsty. And bored beyond my mind. "There has got to be something to get you to leave me alone. Tell me what it is and I'll do it. Anything."

"You said that you haven't eaten in days and that you ran away. If you eat something, and tell me why you ran off, I'll leave you alone." He said.

"Anything but that." I pause. I don't know how my body will react to human food. Bella told me that I'll regurgitate it, but I don't know how that will work.

"Choose one. I don't care which." His phone started to ring. "Decide." He picked up. "Hey, Honey." I hear the other end.

"Erik, where are you? You were supposed to come home hours ago." She asked.

"Sorry, Kate. I found a little girl earlier and she won't let me help her."

"I'm not little." I say.

"You are so sweet. What happened?" Kate asked.

"She ran away from home and she told me she hasn't eaten in days. I offered a ride. And she's yelled at me a couple of times. She is very stubborn." He said.

"Well, _Kate,_ I don't need help. Or a ride. I'm fine. I don't need protection!" I say to both of them. I could run now, but he'll call the police or something.

"Wow. She really is stubborn." Kate said.

"That's not even the half of it." Erik said.

"Whats her name?" Kate asked him.

"Haven't asked." He turned to me. "What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you? You're a guy who decided to drive me out of my mind!"

"Well, call me when it's over. I hope it goes well." Kate said.

"Love you, bye." He hung up.

"Fun conversation?" I ask sarcastically, leaning against a tree.

"I don't want you to die out here." He said in reply.

"And I won't." You might die out here though.

"Are you tired?"

"Nope." I need to stay strong.

"I have some granola bars. I need you to eat at least one." Oh no. He grabbed for his backpack. I can't eat anything.

"I'm not hungry." I am thirsty though.

"You haven't eaten in days, your very pale, and you have circles under your eyes." I know. That's just how I am. The whole vampire debacle. Half of those symptoms are results of thirst. "You also keep grasping your throat. Obvious sign of dehydration." Well, that's the first thing you've said right all day.

"You want to know why I ran away from home?" I say. Maybe it'll get him to shut up and leave me alone.

"Yes."

"My mother left. And it's my fault." He stands in pity. "So there you go. Can you leave me alone now?"

"I can't leave now. You're alone."

"What else do you want from me?! You told me to choose one and I chose. Your end of the bargain was to leave me alone. Pay up." I say. We made a deal. He isn't obeying.

"Whatever reason your mom left you and your family, it wasn't your fault." He said in sympathy.

"You don't know. It was my fault. I'm not going to explain, I can't deal with that. But it's my fault. No denying. I'm 100% positive." I'm not wrong.

"Look, I was a child of divorce. When my dad left, I always thought it was my fault. But, a few years later, I found him and he said it wasn't. I never really believed him. I still blame myself. But I also know that I wasn't the primary reason. Don't blame yourself."

"You don't get it. This is my fault." How do I explain that this is my fault because my mother couldn't handle the fact that I'm a vampire. "My mom left a note for me, my dad, and brother. It said that she still loved us. She said to me that she couldn't handle me anymore." I pause. "It's my fault." He continues to stare. I stare back.

"Well, that does make it harder to argue." He said scratching his head.

"No kidding." I say.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked me.

"Just, leave me alone. I can't deal with anyone right now." I say. I think I already know the answer though.

"I can't do that now." He says. "Just let me stay with you. Until you decide to go home."

I hesitate. "Fine." Wow, I'm dumb. I sit next to the surface of a tree. He sits across from me. "You'll be here for a while." I say.

"I'm not letting you die." He grabs his backpack again. He pulled out two granola bars. "Eat." He said. I took it, but didn't open it. He opened his and starting eating.

"So, what will we do for the next few hours?" He asked. He noticed I hadn't opened the bar. "Eat."

"You sound like Lupin in Prisoner of Azkaban!" Harry faces a dementor and Lupin forced him to eat. Same scenario.

He laughed slightly. "You need to eat something. Humans need food to survive." News flash buddy, I'm not human.

"Why do you want to help me so badly? I don't deserve it and I don't need help." I ask.

"I care about people. I have a weird internal need to help people." When I start to argue he says, "Even if they don't need help."

"Look, I have my reasons for why I don't need help. But I can't tell you them. If I could then I would've already. It would make you leave. But I can't say." How else can I explain this. "It's why my mom left. She couldn't handle the reason."

"That doesn't make any sense." He said.

"It shouldn't. I know it doesn't, but you need to trust that for whatever reason, I'm okay." Just go away.

"I don't know how else to say that I'm not leaving. I can't leave you alone out here. I'm not letting you kill yourself, alone, out here. So much can go wrong." Like right now. So much is going wrong. You are here. I am thirsty. And there are some deer a mile away and I am really about to crack.

I'm scared that they are going to come up to us and I might reveal what I am. Or I might have to play the good guy and save him.

"I know this forest inside and out. I know how to deal with the animals in here." Just kill them and run home. Simple answer. I turn my phone back on to see if anyone has called. Only Kai has texted me. He asked me to come home. I would if I could, Kai.

"Who is that?" He asked.

"My brother. He's worried about me." I'm very relieved that he didn't tell Maddy.

"Of course he's worried about you. When did you run off?"

"Last night at about 8:00. My brother and I came home from school and found Dad at the table with Moms note. We stood there crying for hours. We stood still and then I ran off."

"So, you can't live that far if you ran off last night." On human legs at least. But, I ran 300 miles here. But, I can't tell you that. This is so hard. I would take Nick over this guy at this point. At least Nick would leave me alone. "Did you sleep?"

"No. I can't sleep when I'm stressed." Or at all for that matter.

"Are you tired? On any level?"

"No. And to clarify, I have not ate, I have not slept, I am not hungry, and I am not tired. I am fine. And I wish to be alone. That is the point of running away. I don't need any help, and I am not trying to kill myself out here. I know how to survive on my own. So, you can stop worrying." I talk calmly so maybe he would get it.

"Whether that is true or not, I can't leave you. I couldn't do that to a person. Any person."

I look at him and he looks at me. We stay quiet. We stay like that for a few minutes. Then, the deer from a mile away approach us. He doesn't know it yet. But he will. I don't know what will happen. I'm scared.

"Are you okay? You look really scared all of a sudden." He said with a hint of laughter.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Maybe. The deer are getting closer. There are two of them. They both smell good. I put my hands around my legs. I wish Kai were here. He could help me.

"You keep saying that." He said.

"I say it because it is true." It's not true. Not true one bit. The deer are getting closer. If I turn my head, I could see them.

I don't say anything. He doesn't say anything either. He sees them.

"Well, aren't you two pretty?" He asked them. I look at anything but them. I am on fire and I stop breathing. I stiffen up and close my eyes. "Look at them, they're gorgeous." I open my eyes and look at the deer.

I give them a deep, angry glare and they back off. I continue to stare until they turn around. They run in the other direction. I'm very relieved.

"Oh. I guess they don't like me." I'm not even going to say that I made them do that. There isn't much of a point.

"They were scared. You got all up in there face. They were afraid."

"Well, you do know the animals out here." No kidding!

"Yeah. How often do you come out here?" I ask.

"I spend the night here every Wednesday." Note to self: No hunting on Wednesday's.

"So, you don't know how to deal with deer? You come here once a week, you should know that they are easily frightened."

"I haven't had many encounters with animals." He said slowly.

"And you think you can take care of me when you don't know how to deal with the animals? You kept saying that I could die because of the animals. I said it before, you would die before I do."

"Fair point. What can I do to convince you to go home?"

"I want to go home. But you're so paranoid that I can't. You think "oh, Rachel is going home. I need to make sure she'll be okay". But I can't go home with you. My Dad will freak." Of course I gave a fake name. I'm not telling him that my name is Maya.

"Well, now I know your name. Rachel." He said.

"Yeah. Erik."

"How do you do that?!"

"Your call with Kate. Your phone wasn't exactly quiet. She called you Erik. That's your name." He looks dumbstruck. "I'm not a detective. Just meticulous and neurotic. Not to mention, they're obvious clues."

"Okay." He said.


	20. Journey

20- Journey

 _Malachi's POV_

"What if she's coming home? What if she comes home to find us gone?" Dad asked me.

"She wouldn't run in broad daylight. She'd be too paranoid. She's still there. I'm positive." After all, I know her best. Maya's my sister. I'm pretty much the only person she talks to.

"Try calling her again." Dad said. We've been driving for about an hour. We have about four left. I'm not worried yet. If we don't find her, then I'll worry. I tried to call her and she didn't pick up.

"Nothing." I waited a moment. My phone dinged. "She texted me!" I say.

"Read it, Malachi!" He yelled. He _is_ really worried. He doesn't really have reason to be, but I guess it's a paternal thing. He seems to be more concerned about Maya then Mom. I'm the opposite. I try not to think about it, but it's almost impossible.

"Okay! _I can't talk on the phone. Or at all for that matter. If you and Dad are coming, call me Rachel. Can't explain right now._ " She texted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dad asked.

"I don't know. Why do we need to call her Rachel?" I ask. I text Maya back.

 _Okay?_ She doesn't answer. I didn't expect her to.

"I don't know. The only reason she would give a fake name is if she met someone. But she's in the middle of the woods." Dad said.

"Maybe she did. Maybe that's why she can't come home. They won't let her leave." I guess.

"But who would be in the woods in the middle of the night other than Maya?" He asks.

"Maybe another vampire." I still find it somewhat difficult to say the word. It's much harder for Maya though. "Maybe they won't let her leave?" I ask.

"I feel like the only ones who would do that are the Volturi. The Cullen's would have let us know if they were coming. But other than that, wouldn't they let her go?" Dad predicts.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out when we get there." I say. I don't know what to expect.

I've only thought about _getting_ Maya. I haven't thought about the drive back. Will it be awkward? Will there be arguments? What'll happen?

Has Maya had the opportunity to hunt? Will she just want to go home by herself? So if she hasn't hunt, what'll it be like if she drives with us?

What about Dad? Will he be mad? He's already stressed out about Mom, will he take it out on her? I just need to wait and see. I can't ask these questions out loud. That would be really weird and could end really badly.

What if Dad takes his anger out on me and Maya tries to save me? That could end badly. I'm overthinking this. I have nothing else to think about.

"Do you think she's okay?" Dad asked me.

"Yes. I just think she blames herself. She ran off because she thinks it's her fault." I respond.

"But it isn't Maya's fault." Dad says in frustration.

"Whether it is or not, she thinks it is hers. I know it isn't, but she doesn't care. She blames herself." I say. It doesn't Matter to her. She believes it is her fault.

He doesn't say anything. He doesn't have a response. I have nothing left to say. We don't say anything. We just drive.

We don't talk for an hour. My phone breaks the silence. It's Nick.

"Hey." I say to him. Dad continues to drive. He clearly is thinking about other things. It's like he doesn't realize I'm talking.

"Hey, you wanna hang out?" Nick asked.

"I'm a little busy." What else am I supposed to say?

"Doing what? You never do anything on weekdays." While that may be true, I'm not even in the same state as you anymore.

"I'm just busy." Too vague?

"Care to elaborate?" He asked me. And no, I would not. I'm not good at lying.

"Nick, I kind of want to be alone right now. So, no. I don't want to hang out. Sorry." I say.

"Fine. The guys are coming, you'll be missing out." Nick said.

"Don't care. I need some alone time." I say. I hang up. If "alone time" means going in the car for hours to find my sister in the middle of the woods, then I need some.

"Everything okay?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, Nick asked for me to hang out. But, I'm a bit preoccupied." I say. "This is more important. Anyway, the guys couldn't care less."

"I guess." He paused. "I never asked how your day was."

"It was fine. It was just weird without Maya there. It was lonely."

"Are none of the guys in your team?" He asked me.

"No. It was just me and Maddy." Oops.

"Who's Maddy?" I never told him about her. I asked Mom about the party. She must have never told him.

"A friend. She's having a party tomorrow night. For back to school. I said I would go, and miraculously, Maya agreed. She's only going for me. Maya doesn't like her at all."

"Maya? Going to a party? Even before she would never do that. She's more of an independent. How is that even going to work?" He said.

"I don't know. Maddy said that everyone is sleeping over. She's worried that someone will wake up in the middle of the night and find her just reading in the dark. I said I'll cover for her. I haven't come up with an excuse yet."

"She's not going to have fun." Dad said. I'm fully aware. I don't even know if I want her to come. I hate seeing her in pain.

"I know. I was really surprised when she said yes. There are a lot of people at a party. Yeah there are more people in school, but there's a more risk to bump into anyone. Also, Maddy always urges Maya to eat. Maya keep saying no, obviously, but Maddy's mother may not be so lenient."

"Yeah."

"The thing about Maddy is that she asks a lot of questions. She is dying to get an answer out of me or Maya. And Maya really thinks that something bad is going to happen with her. She doesn't trust Maddy in the slightest."

"Can you blame her? She's been thrown into this crazy situation with no warning. She doesn't trust anyone anymore. Other than you." Dad said with a guilty tone. He's implying that she doesn't trust _him_ anymore. Especially because of Mom.

"Yeah. Maya wants to trust her, but she doesn't. I just want her to not be afraid anymore." I say. Dad has always been more of a friend rather an authoritative. Mom was always the parent. Dad is being a friend right now, he probably will continue to be. It's hard to think of him being strict or angry.

"She has every reason to be scared." He replied.

"I know. She's so scared of... herself." I realized it. I don't think she ever realized it. She's afraid of _herself_.

"And to think, Liz and I were scared when she 'died'." He put quotation marks around the word. He hasn't referred to her as "Mom" since she left. Only "Liz".

"Yeah. You got over it though."

"It seems like you were the only one who wasn't scared." He said, again in a guilty tone.

"I just know that no matter what happens, she'll be the same person. Under any circumstance, she would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else. She may be scared that she will hurt someone, but she won't. She isn't like that." I pause. "I know her."

"You're making me feel bad." Dad said.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I already know the answer.

"You know my daughter better than I do." He laughed a little.

"I'm her brother/best friend/person who keeps her sane." I say. All of it is true. And all of it is the same way the other way around. She's my sister. She's my best friend. She's the one who keeps me sane. We are each others protector.

"But, I'm her father." He complains.

"Your my father. She probably knows me better than you do." I say.

"Thanks." He says sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. We both know her, but we're practically the same person. We're twins."

"Fraternal twins."

"Um, hello? We are identical. We are different genders." I say sarcastically. He laughs.

We get quiet again. We realize why we're in this situation.

"Thank you for being her friend." He said

"Your welcome? That's kind of cheesy." I say.

"I'm serious. Without you... she wouldn't be herself." He said.

"Well, without me, she probably wouldn't exist." I said. "Biology."

"Yeah, yeah." He responded. "But thank you for being there for her."

"Don't let Maya hear you say that. She gets very defensive about that kind of thing." I say thinking about the plane.

"I've noticed." He said. "But, I mean it."

"Your welcome, I guess." I don't really understand what he's thanking me for. Would he say the same thing if she had another friend?

We don't talk after that. We just drive. Dad turns the radio on and we don't talk for hours.

When we approach Monongahela, it was around eight at night. The sun was almost completely set. Dad starts asking me questions.

"Any ideas on where she would be?" He asks.

"No. I guess we can just yell for her. Maybe not loud. But, she could be anywhere." I say.

"It's practically dark, what if she's on her way home?" Dad asked.

"That's what these are for." I say pulling out my phone. I look at the texts and remember. "Also, we need to call for 'Rachel'. For some reason."

"Right." He starts calling out for her.


	21. Rescue

21- Rescue

I've been with this guy for fourteen hours, I haven't hunted, and I'm very annoyed. He's wife called twice more and he made a fire.

"How is it that you haven't eaten anything all day?" Erik asked me.

"I'm not hungry." I say.

"Rachel, you said you haven't eaten in days, and you seem-" I cut him off.

"I get it. Just stop talking. I thought we've established that I'm not giving in and that you can't make me." I say.

Thank God. I don't think I've ever been this happy to be able to smell and hear so far away. Kai and Dad are here. They have come to save me! I don't let him see my glee, it would give something away.

"If your staying here overnight again, you need to eat something." He says.

"I'm not eating. And I'm not staying here another night." I say.

"It kind of seems like you are." Erik responds.

"I can't go home because you're holding me hostage here. If I try to leave you'll want to come with me and make sure I stay alive. But, I'm going home tonight either alone, or..." I almost say that they're here. I can't give it away.

"Or...?" He asked.

"Or, I'll have to stay here another night because I won't be alone." Is that a good cover story?

He yawned, he's very drowsy. He's used all his energy "taking care" of me. I don't know how else to explain that I don't need help.

"Rachel?!" Dad and Kai call. Erik hears. I notice him, and I react.

"Your folks are worried about you. They came out here for you. Clearly they aren't mad at you because of your Mom." He stands up, I don't. I'm afraid to move. "Hey! She's here!" He calls to them. "Your not going home alone tonight."

"That sounds like something you say to your single alcoholic friend." I say with a sarcastic tone. My plan was to be mean to him so that he wouldn't help. But clearly it didn't work. I'm so glad it's over.

I'm still hoping to go home alone tonight. I hope they'll let me. I'll wait for Erik to be gone and then hunt and go home. But, it probably won't happen.

Dad and Kai approach us running. I realize that Kai is going to hug me, I stiffen up slightly and hold my breath.

"Hi Kai." I say. Dad joins in the hug. "Hi Dad." They notice that I'm trying my hardest not to touch them, and let go.

"I've been really worried about you, Maya." Great.

"Maya? I thought your name was Rachel." Erik said. After a moments hesitation he said, "You gave me a fake name?"

"Of course I gave you a fake name! You're a complete stranger! Who's holding me hostage when I ran away!" I yell at him. "Why would I tell you my real name? I'm not stupid."

"How do you know that I didn't give you a fake name?" Erik asked me.

"When your wife called, she called you Erik. Seriously, be logical." I say. "I'm not a detective."

"You seem like one." He said under his breath.

"Well, I've been with you for fourteen hours. That's enough for a lifetime." I turn to walk away. Kai follows. Dad stays.

"Is she okay?" He asked Erik.

"I'm fine Dad." I say.

"You two go on. I need to talk to him." He indicated to Erik.

"Okay." Kai and I walked away.

"You know I'm fine, right?" I ask Kai.

"Yeah. I wasn't worried until I had to think of excuses for today."

"How was Dad?" I asked him.

"He was fine. I woke up this morning and found him passed out drunk though."

"Yes. That is the definition of "fine"."

He changed the subject. "What are they talking about?" He asked me. I then recite what Dad and Erik were saying.

"Is she okay?" Dad asked.

"I don't know. She said that she hasn't eaten in a few days and she hasn't slept. I couldn't leave her because I didn't know if she was trying to kill herself out here." Erik responded.

"You're a good person. Thank you for taking care of her." Dad said genuinely.

"She seems in denial. She kept saying that she didn't need help and that she was fine. But it seems like she isn't." Erik said.

"Thank you." He said again.

"Your welcome." Erik said. "She's very... stubborn."

"I've noticed." He laughed when he said it.

"I offered to take her home, but she said that you live far away. I don't know if it was an excuse or true." Erik said.

"We live far." Dad said.

"She said that she comes here a lot. You can't live that far. Like, a mile?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just happy she's safe." He pauses. "Well, have a nice... well, night." He said. And he started walking away. Erik didn't say anything to Dad, but he picked up his phone and called Kate.

"You told him that you haven't eaten? Does that mean you haven't hunted either?" Kai asked me.

"I haven't." I say meekly.

"Why? You have school and a party tomorrow." Kai said.

"I know. I never got the chance to. When I got here, I called the Cullen's and I didn't realize how long I was sitting in my own thoughts, when he found me at around six this morning." We stopped walking and waited for Dad to catch up.

"There's not going to be enough time. By the time we get home it'll be one in the morning. By the time your back here, it'll be four, by the time your back it'll be the middle of first period."

"I was thinking I could go now." I say with a questioning tone.

"What are we supposed to do for two hours? We aren't going home without you.

"I'll be quick. I'm already here, thirty minutes max." I say. He was still hesitant. "Look, I wanted to come home last night. But then Erik found me. I've been restraining myself all day. I can't go to school or the party after two days, no hunt. That's just..." How do I say this without insulting him? "Not smart."

"We'll wait until Dad catches up. Then we'll make a decision."

"I never asked about you. Are you okay? About... Everything?"

"I... try not to think about it. I don't want to think about it. I know you think it's your fault." Kai said.

"I've been talking about me all day. I don't want to talk about me." I say. "Erik was pestering me all day, trying to get answers out of me. He practically forced a granola bar down my throat. It's Maddy times one hundred. If I could spend today without murdering Erik, I can probably handle Maddy." He laughed.

"So, You say you don't want to talk about you, but then you talk about you?" He asked.

I laughed. "Shush." I say playfully.

"Fine. Me. Today was really hard. It was really weird being alone with Maddy. I missed you. I said that you were sick and had to stay home. I didn't say anything about Mom. But, the guys do know."

"Who'd you tell first?" I ask him. He didn't answer right away. "Nick?"

"He was the first person I saw. He told everyone else, so the guys know. It's easier than saying it more than once."

"That's fair." I say. Kai and I start talking at the same time.

"Do we tell Maddy?" I talk next.

"You know her better."

"It's up to you." Kai said when a Dad approached.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I wanted to come home last night. Then I got lost in thought, and Erik found me." I paused. "Why did you thank him? He was practically holding me hostage."

"He's a good person. He was worried. As was I." Dad said.

"Look, I'm sorry Dad. But, it was my fault that Mom left. I didn't want to cause any more pain. But, then the sun came up. And I'm sorry. Time got away from me."

"It's okay Maya. I know that you need to come out here to... eat, but never stay out all night without telling me again. I was really worried Maya." Dad said. I feel kind of guilty. Not kind of, I feel really guilty.

"It won't, I promise. I'm really sorry." I can't ask the go hunting _now._ He just wants us all home. So I won't go. "And I'm sorry that you had to come so far, but it's the closest sufficient place to..." I've been doing this for seven months and I'm still not comfortable saying it.

"Right. You just never told me how far you went, it caught me by surprise." Dad said. "Had I known, I would have come this morning."

"Dad, you were passed out this morning." Kai said.

"You should have woken me up, Kai." Dad said.

"Look, can we just go home? It's late." I say. Kai looks at me surprised.

I know what he's about to say. "Didn't you say—"

"Don't worry about it. You probably both need sleep and I'm not taking any more time away from you."

"I am tired. Let's go." Dad said. He led the way and Kai whispered to me under his breath so only I could hear.

"I thought you said that you needed to hunt." He said. I pull my phone out because I can't whisper without Dad hearing too. I can get quiet enough, but Kai can't pick up such quiet sounds. So I would need to speak louder, then Dad would hear too.

 _I did. But I can't ask now._

"Why?" He asked, again under his breath.

 _Because. Dads mad at me. I don't want to make it worse._

"He's not mad at you."

 _Yes he is. He blames me too._

"No he doesn't. He loves you." Well, he loves Mom too. I don't say anything. "Here, I'll prove it." He walks quickly towards Dad.

"Kai." I whisper.

"Dad, Maya hasn't hunted yet." Kai said defiantly.

"Wh- Maya?!" I put my hand on my head in frustration.

"I'm fine Dad. Besides, it isn't safe with you guys here. I'll go tomorrow night." I say.

" _Tomorrow night_ , you'll be at a party. Where you would be supposedly sleeping."

"I'll sneak out." I say.

"What if someone realizes your gone. Or even worse, what if everyone goes to bed at a time where you wouldn't be back in time for morning." Dad said.

"Kai'll cover for me." He turns to Kai.

"I'll say you went home." Kai said.

"Why do you even want to go to the party anyway? You hate socializing."

I'm going for Kai. "I need the practice."

"What you need, is to hunt." Dad says stubbornly. "It's not up for discussion. We'll wait in the car."


	22. Human vs Hunter

22- Human vs. Hunter

 _Malachi's POV_

"What you need, is to hunt." Dad says stubbornly. "It's not up for discussion. We'll wait in the car."

"There's no point in trying, is there?" Maya asked.

"Go." I say. I close my eyes drowsily and when I open them, "And she's gone."

"We should, er, get to the car." Dad stuttered. I nodded as we walk towards the edge of the forest.

When we got to the car, we don't talk. We wait, but I interrupted the silence.

"Are you... mad? At Maya, I mean?" I ask, nervous for the answer.

"I'm trying not to be. She's just so stubborn. It's frustrating." He said.

"Trust me, I know."

"I want to protect her, so much. But there's only so much I can do, I just feel like I'm not doing enough." Dad complained.

"I know. She is very, _very_ independent. You offer her a hand, then she pushes you away. All you want to do is help her, but she won't let you. She thinks she can do it by herself, she doesn't realize that she's not alone. She thinks that since she is the only one of her around here, that she needs to prove something. Like she _needs_ to do it on her own." I say.

"But she isn't alone. That is what family is for." Dad said.

"Well, people like her generally don't have family. More specifically, their families don't know about people like her. Independence is a trait of "vampirism" or whatever. She was independent before, and when you turn, your traits are enhanced. So now she's _more_ independent, she's _more_ determined, she's more everything." I say.

"Maya tells you these things?" Dad asked.

"No, I've picked them up over time. I've noticed them and the Cullens mentioned them a few times. I just pay attention." I say. When it comes to Maya, I'll pick anything up that might help her.

"You pay attention, huh? Then explain your grades." Dad said. I laugh a little.

"I want to help her, so I subconsciously pick these things up."

"You think I don't want to help her? Why didn't _I_ notice these things? Why did _I_ not pick them up? Why am I a bad father?" Dad said slowly. He started crying. I don't think we're talking about Maya anymore. But I'll take that approach.

"You are the greatest father I could ever imagine. Maya feels the same way. You are not a bad father. Would a bad father drive for hours to West Virginia to rescue his daughter? Would a bad father accept his daughter after he found out what she is? Would a bad father move across the country for not even a year so that his daughter could learn how to be comfortable with herself? No! Only a good father would ask that question. You care about us." I start crying too, out of passion. "You make us feel wanted. You make us feel safe. You are a great father."

My speech silenced him. I just hope that I got the message through to him. He was still crying, I was still crying, but less than Dad.

"I just want her to be happy." Dad said slowly.

"I do too." I say.

"How far do you think she is?" Dad asked.

"I don't know, couple miles. Maybe?" We pulled ourselves together and Dad got very serious.

"When you go to this party, you will stay with her at all times. You will not abandon her, you will not let her out of your sight. She goes with you and you go with her. You will be inseparable. You will cover for her if something goes wrong and you will make sure that nothing will. You will protect her at all costs." He said.

"Yes, sir." I agree. I already know this, I was going to do it anyway. We wait a moment. Dad seems to be thinking deeply about something. Like he's contemplating something.

"How much longer do you think she'll be?" He asked me.

"I don't know, maybe half an hour." I guess. I know she said that was how long in total, but when we first devised her hunting plan, she said that it would take around an hour. So far, it's been twenty minutes.

"Good, I need to tell you something."

* * *

 _Maya's POV_

"There's no point in trying, is there?" I ask.

"Go." Kai said. He closed his eyes slightly and I leave. I need to be in a place where Erik won't find me, and far enough from Dad and Kai so I don't lose control.

When I'm a mile radius from all of them, I start planning.

This isn't safe. I don't know what way Erik will go, for all I know I could be putting him in serious danger just by being here. He may travel this way and he'll find me hunting. Then I hunt him. I've never been good with self-control when I'm hunting. What vampire is? Other than Bella.

Should I wait for something to come to me? No, that could take a long time. I already smell things, one of which includes Erik. And Dad and Kai faintly. Lucky for them I've gotten used to _their_ blood. But that may not matter.

I go another mile and I still smell Erik. Dad and Kai are gone. I'm so, _so_ scared. And thirsty. I go a few more miles until Erik's scent is faint.

Just because his scent is faint here doesn't mean I won't take myself in that direction. So, I go a few more miles. This should be good. Fifteen miles from all of my concerns.

I've never been in this part of Monongahela. I don't know what to expect. Maybe I'll run into something I haven't had before.

Then I begin. I walk around a few minutes until I pick something up. It's the deer from earlier today. I smirk at the irony. I walk toward them. I probably won't be able to get both of them at once, but I'll get the second eventually.

They stand together looking away from me. I stand still and wait. They don't even realize I'm here until one turns around. It freezes, it recognizes me. I have a devious, mischievous look on my face, the other deer ran. The one deer still frozen. I tilt my head and take one human step forward.

It runs in the other direction and I let it have a minute's head start to try and trick it into security. Then I start for it. I go slow, for me at least, and we find ourselves in the same situation.

We stare at each other and I see it's fear. I need to make this quick. I've had my fun, but I should really get back. The deer realizes what's about to happen. So, I kill it.

It's at this point where I forget who I am. I'm a predator fighting to survive. And I'm winning.

I'm not done yet. The other deer is half a mile away and I head towards it. I decide I'm not done playing.

The deer is scared. Its brother killed just seconds ago and it doesn't know a thing. But it remembers me. It remembers the glare, the hatred, the fear. It fills me with a malicious joy. As it walks slowly backward, I stalk forward. It stops walking and I mirror it. I wait for it to make the next move.

We continue the same routine. It stepping back, me stepping forward. It decides to trick me. It steps forward to throw me off. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out in its favor. When it steps forward I attack.

I'm still not done. I'm craving something different. But what? I run for a few miles and stop. A new scent. Unfamiliar. I run towards it, curious. A bear.

I've never had bear before, this should be interesting. I know that bears are more predatory animals. I try to look innocent, like I just stumbled upon it randomly. When it sees me, it has the same thoughts on its mind. It wants to attack me. It feels threatened.

It walks toward me and I back away from it as if I were afraid. It continues to walk. Faster and faster. I walk away pretending to leave. It follows me until I'm against a tree. It thinks I have nowhere else to go. I have a scared look on my face. It gets close to me and I move from the tree. It jumps on top of me. I try to look scared and when it thinks it won I turn it around so that I'm on top. A growl escapes my throat and within a second, it's dead.

Despite being finished, I'm still in the hunting state of mind. Meaning that I may still lose control around a human. But, I can't keep them waiting much longer. I walk for a while to calm down my mind. To bring myself back to sanity.

As I head back, I'm still in a frenzy. I'm half myself, half hunter. Then, the worst happens. Erik. I smell him from miles away. I don't want to, but my legs carry me in his direction. Within seconds I see him. He's about twenty feet away and he doesn't see me. I'm suddenly back to a killer. Nothing would satisfy me more than to let go of the tree and run. He was walking in the same direction as the car. He still doesn't see me, I like it better that way. It's easier to attack.

Stop. What am I doing? You're better than this. I attempt to hold my breath but it doesn't work. I inhale again, continuing to take the scent in. I keep falling in and out of my two personalities. I climb the tree I was grasping, I barely notice the large gash I made in it. When I'm towards the top, I follow Erik towards the edge of the woods. When I pick up Dad and Kai's scent I stop.

I need to calm down. I need to stop. But I can't wait much longer. They may get worried. But if I go in there now, in this state of mind, who knows what will happen? Erik is just below me and the car is half a mile away. How do I do this?

I stay in the tree until Erik is gone. Usually when I hunt I have a few hours before I'm in close proximity to humans. I drop to the ground and walk to the car.


	23. Stories

23- Stories

I approach the car nervously, I wonder what will happen. I think I'm back to normal but what do I know? Dad and Kai are talking quietly, like they're keeping something from me. Then Dad sees me and stops talking.

"Are you okay?" Dad asked me. I didn't notice the terrified look on my face. "You look really scared."

"I... I just had a really close call." I stutter.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked me. How do I say this without sounding like a psychopathic criminal?

"I almost... I may or may not have almost just killed Erik." I say guiltily. They don't say anything. "Had I not waited a few minutes after he left... I might have killed you too." I say slowly, defeated. I wait to see Dad or Kai look scared, but they don't. They look understanding, almost pity.

"Oh." Dad said through a breath.

"I told you it wasn't safe." I'm looking down, I can't look at them. I'm too ashamed. "For me to hunt with you near."

"It's safer for you to hunt now than to go to school and the party on nothing." Kai said. I guess that's true.

"I don't think you understand. You don't know what went on in my head." I say, looking up. They're looking at the backseat where I'm sitting. I don't meet their eyes, but I meet their faces.

"Then tell us. It might make you feel better, and we may start understanding you more. Well, more accurately, _I_ can start understanding you more." Dad said. I never realized that he felt that way. I'm glad that he reaching out.

"Well, here goes. Fair warning, this may get specific. I started running, and I couldn't start hunting until I was sure I wouldn't run into Erik. It was just over fifteen miles from here." I guess I'm going through hunting in its entirety. This may actually help them understand me better. "I couldn't smell him, or you, then I walked around until I picked up a scent. It was a few deer that we, Erik and I, had encountered from earlier today. But, that doesn't really matter.

"When I hunt, I turn into someone else. I'm more animal than human. Well, I 'm not human, but you know what I mean. Whether I've tasted the blood yet or I'm about to, I turn in that person. The person who doesn't care about anything except for what's in my field of view. That person comes when I know that I'm about to hunt. She isn't fully prominent until I actually taste it. I'm about half and half when I look, about 75% when I find it, about 90% when I play with it." I have a bit of a devious smirk as I go on. "That sounds really weird, but I _do_ like to tease them. To make them think their safe or that I'm the victim, not them." I sit for a moment with the sly grin.

"Are we not going to talk about animal cruelty?" Kai said. Dad glares at him.

"I know it's cruel, but she doesn't exactly give me a choice." I say and I get back to the story.

"Anyway, when I finished hunting, I took a few minutes to try and get back to myself. I usually have the run home to calm down, but I didn't have hours this time. I had half of one at most. When I headed back, I was around 50/50 when I smelled Erik. All of a sudden, she was back and controlling my moves. I don't think I've ever run that fast before. Then he was about twenty feet away and he never saw me. I was holding onto the tree and I almost started running. But she decided that I would follow him. So, I climbed the tree and I jumped to the next. The first one almost fell over from how much I had dented it. I followed him until I found the edge of the forest. I saw the car and she told me that there were three people total. I decided to wait, so Erik would be far enough away to not be suspicious. But then he was gone. And I came back to sanity."

I finish. Kai was just looking at me, Dad had started crying.

"Oh, my God you're scared. I've freaked you out. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you anything. I'm so sorry, Dad." I say. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. We both thought it was a good idea, clearly, we were wrong.

"No, I'm just glad that you're sharing this with me." He said. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me? I just told you that I almost killed you. I should be the one apologizing. It's my fault."

"Maya, this is who you are. I know you better than anyone. I know you wouldn't hurt us. That's why we aren't scared." Kai said.

"Didn't you listen to the story? I have no control over anything. I didn't care that it was you. I didn't care that it was Erik. It didn't matter who it was, my mind was in that state. I would have killed you had I not wanted to do it logically." I'm looking directly into his eyes, hoping he would understand.

"But you didn't. You _didn't_ kill us. And it's not like we're ever going to be in this situation again." Never say never Kai.

"Can we just go home? We won't get home until about 3:30 and we have school tomorrow." I say sitting back on the seat.

"Right." Dad said as he started the car. A few minutes pass where no one said anything. But Dad breaks the silence. "While you were out, Kai and I were talking and I need to tell you something." He said.

"Dad, I thought you said that we wouldn't tell her yet." He said. I get a little worried.

"Well I changed my mind. Last night, Aunt Andrea passed away." He said. It sounded like he started crying again. I would be too. Aunt Andrea was who I was named after. My middle name at least. She and Uncle John had gotten a divorce when I was really young. Nobody knows what happened to him after that.

"What?" I ask. "What happened?"

"She got into a taxi and the driver was drunk. She didn't realize it until she was almost home. But then the driver swerved into another car." Kai continued drowsily.

"Oh... What about Liliana?" I stutter. She's only eight years old.

"Well, given the fact that her and John divorced before she was born, Lily hasn't met him. The court then asked for the closest family member, emotionally, and that's us. They asked for her to be adopted." Dad said.

"Well What did you say? I ask him.

"I said we would think about it. I wanted us all to be aware of the situation before we made a decision." He said.

"Well there isn't much to think about. The answers obvious." I say. Kai has fallen asleep in the seat.

"I know. I'll say,"

"No." "Yes." We day at the same time.

"Dad you have to say yes. She can't go on without a family. Especially knowing that we're here and able to take care of her. It'll crush her even more." I say. She can't go on alone. We're able to take care of her, so we need to.

"But what about you?"

"What _about_ me? She needs a home." I say.

"Kai said the same thing. I really love her and want her to have a home too, but... What do we tell her?"

"I don't know, we'll figure it out. But you need to say yes."

"I'll call the judge tomorrow."

As we drive home, nobody talked. Kai was asleep and Dad was tired. It was almost four in the morning when we got home. Dad was about to wake Kai.

"No, let him sleep. We'll wake him up when we need to get ready." I say.

"I'm up. I'm good." Kai said with his eyes half-closed. "What time is it?"

"About four. You should get to bed. You both should." I say to both of them. We walk inside and Dad pulls me aside. Kai goes upstairs.

"Are you sure about this? With Liliana?" He says.

"Yes, Dad. She deserves to have a home. We need to give it to her." I say. "She is great, and she shouldn't have to go through this alone. We'll talk about it later, you need sleep. You just drove for twelve hours and it has been a rough couple of days. Go to bed. You don't need to get up for us. We'll get ready on our own."

"Since when are you the parent?" Dad asked me.

"Go to bed, Dad." I say to him. He nods and we walk upstairs. He turns to this bedroom, I turn to mine. I lay on the bed, face down, and wait. I hear Dad sobbing from his room. He has had such a hard few days. What with Mom leaving, his sister dying, and me almost killing him. He must be so depressed.

A few minutes later, I get a call from the Cullen's. I don't pick up. I'm not exactly in a mood to talk. They try again and I answer.

"I don't really want to talk to anyone right now." I say.

Bella responds. "At least tell me if you're home okay."

"Yes. Can I go now?" I ask. She says yes and hangs up. Then I wait for morning.


	24. Warning

24- Warning

When morning comes a few hours later, I go get Kai out of bed.

"Wake up. We have torture to endure." I say nudging his arm. He's not a morning person.

"I don't want to." He says with his eyes closed.

"Well, me neither but too bad. If I can do it you can." I say to him.

"Maya I'm tired." He says rolling over.

"I don't care. We're going to be late." I say. He doesn't move. "I will drag you out of bed." Nothing. "Are you even awake?"

"No."

"Fine." I move the covers until I find his foot. I keep my word and drag him until he's on the floor.

"Is that really necessary?" Kai asked, finally opening his eyes.

"Yes."

"Your hand's cold." He says. I roll my eyes.

"I know. We have to leave. It's almost seven." I say to him. He immediately stands up.

"What? Maya, why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"I'm not your alarm clock. And you didn't get a lot of sleep. _Which you need._ " I say. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Why?" He asks.

"Because Dad's not awake yet. And we can't waste time." I pause. "Go!" I leave his room and walk downstairs.

We have to leave in about fifteen minutes, and I'm really dreading it. The past few days have been hectic and today, and tonight, will just add to it. Five minutes later, Kai comes downstairs and gets a bowl of cereal.

"Are you sure you're okay with Liliana coming?" He asked.

"Yes. She deserves a home and we are prepared to give one." I say, I've said this a thousand times.

"That may be true. But what about _you_?" He asked, taking a bite.

"What _about_ me?" I ask. "She needs a home."

"You really freaked out last night. Bringing someone else in the house could heighten that." He said.

"Kai, I freaked out because I almost killed you. But, it's like you said. We'll never be in that situation again. And, if I haven't said so already, I'm sorry." I say.

"You've mentioned it. Which, I'm still very confused about, and you'll have to explain that again. But what do we tell her? _Do_ we tell her? What if she figures it out?" Kai asked. I honestly don't have an answer.

"We'll worry about that when it comes around. We have other things to worry about right now. And, how will she figure it out? But, we have to focus on other things." I say. Of course, I'm still going to think about it though.

Five minutes left.

"So this Erik guy, he told you to eat. Did you?" He asked. I think I see where this is going.

"No." I say plainly.

"Have you had _any_ human food since you changed?" Hey, I was right.

"No."

"What about the party? Maddy's parents may not be so lenient. You might have to eat something." He says.

"What are you saying, Kai?" I ask, but I already know.

"Maybe you should try to eat something now, to be prepared for later." He pauses. "You look scared."

"We have to leave in five minutes."

"All the more reason." He says. Maybe he's right. I go to the fridge and grab an apple. "Don't be nervous, just do it."

I hesitate a moment before taking a bite. I almost immediately spit it back out again. "No, no. I'm never doing that again." That tastes like dirt. Kai starts laughing. "It is not funny."

"Your reaction was." He says. "You're going to do that tonight?"

"So I won't eat. I'll figure it out. I did yesterday." I said. He waits a moment.

"Can I have that apple?" He asked.

"Not the best idea. There's probably venom on it." Does that sound weird?

"Okay?" He said questioningly. "What time should we go over tonight?"

"Whenever she tells us. She never did." I say. We can't go to a party too early. We can't go too late. We need to be punctual.

"I'll ask."

"Let's go."

Kai walks alongside me as we leave the house. "Can you please explain this whole thing again?" He says. " 'Cause I'm still really confused." I give a hesitant look. "Just a simplified version, we have a few minutes."

"I completely forget who I am. I would have killed you, had I had the chance." I whisper.

"But you did have the chance, and you didn't kill us. Or Erik. So, there must have been _some_ of you left."

"That's because I'm logical. I wanted to make sure that Erik was far enough away to not be suspicious of anything. Then I would go after him. It was fully thought out." I say.

"Then what stopped you? What turned you back?" He asked. I guess he's trying to figure out if I'm ever _really_ gone. The answer is yes. I am gone.

"Time, I guess. I'm not sure. Maybe the fact that Erik was so far away and I know your scent so well, I just... came back." I say. It's just a theory.

"But that still means that you were still there, somewhat." We were approaching the bus stop now and Maddy and everyone else was there.

"I wasn't there, you made me come back. By your logic, I would never come back." I say.

"Never come back from where?" Maddy asked.

"Don't worry about it." I say to her. "It's not important."

"If it's not important, then why can't you tell me?" She asked. Tell me again why I'm going to this party tonight?

"Because you don't need to know. We were just talking. It's not important." Kai said. She'll listen to him. Right?

"Fine. So, the party starts at six, I was wondering if you could come early to help set up? Mom doesn't get home from work until 5:30, so we need all the extra hands we can get." Great. Now we're going early?

"Sure. We'll come at like five? That sound good?" Kai asked.

"Sounds great." Maddy responded.

"So who's coming to this party?" Kai asked.

"Just people around the neighborhood and some family friends. Not all of them even go to our school. There's this one family down the street who are homeschooled, they are so nice. They moved in actually, just before you did." She says. She is really excited about this. I'm the opposite.

"Before we moved _back._ We've lived here all our lives. We just moved to Washington for a while." I say. At least I'm talking.

"Right." She said when the bus came.

We got on and she followed us to the back. I look out the window while Kai talks to Maddy in the aisle.

I still don't like her. But, she's tolerable. After Erik, I can handle her. At least I hope so.

Maddy asks questions and doesn't stop. She gets nosy and wants to figure me out. Erik was more of a protector. He wanted to help me. Yes, he asked questions, but not as prominent ones. At this point, I don't know who I hate more. Maddy I have to see every day and is Kai's friend. Erik and I never have to see each other again. Hopefully.

Maybe going early is a good thing. The amount of people will grow gradually, rather all at once. I'm so scared. But Kai will be there. He'll stay with me.

By first period, I'm dead. This teacher hasn't gotten any better. I still hate him and he still hates me. I wish I could explain to him that I have trouble looking at people.

"Now, everyone get with a partner. You are going to annotate the information that I am about to give you on the Articles of Confederation." Mr. Greene says. "Go." He says. Everyone moves, except for me and Kai.

"You don't have to always work with me. You're allowed to make friends." I say.

"But who are _you_ going to work with. It's not like you're making friends any time soon." Kai replies. It silenced me. "Sorry."

"No, you're right. I just don't want you spending this entire year not doing anything." I say. Mr. Greene handed us the article.

"But, You should still make more friends." I say, getting a highlighter out of my pencil case.

"You're one to talk." Kai said. I laugh slightly.

By the end of class, I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with Mr. Greene. I knew that on day one, but after a few days, I know for sure. He doesn't like me. He doesn't understand what I'm going through and it's not like I can tell him. He just has to deal with the fact that I can't look at people.

The day went pretty smoothly. Maddy didn't ask questions. What did Kai say to her that made her stop?

Gym was hardest. I ran faster than I thought possible last night, so I ended up speeding up and slowing down. However, I got through it nevertheless.

Kai and I don't talk much as we walk home. He just notices me being nervous. Of course I am. How can I not be?

We get ready independently, and when we're ready, we leave.

"I'm a scale from one to ten, how scared are you?" Kai asked me after we bid Dad goodbye.

"A hundred." I reply plainly. Her house is just down the street, we get there within minutes.

"Try not to breathe when people arrive. Just be glad that people will come gradually." He says. I am glad about that.

When we walk to the door, Maddy comes to open it before we get there.

"Hey. Welcome." She says when my phone rings.

I look at it, it's Alice. What happened now? "I need to take this." Kai looked at me concerned. "It's Alice." I whisper.

"Who's Alice?" Maddy asked.

"Our cousin." Kai said quickly. I walk back down the driveway.

"You can take it inside." Maddy said.

"No, I can't." I answer it and whisper so neither of them can hear. "Alice, what's going on? What did you see?" I ask her.

"You can't go to this party." She says. "You need to leave."

"What? Why?" I'll happily leave, but I can't.

"I can't tell you." She said. "But you can't go to the party."

"Alice, you can tell me. If I can't go, I need a reason." I say. Whatever it is, I can handle it.

"Maya, I can't tell you. I can't hurt you like that." She said. "Just go home. You can't be at the party."

"But, why?" I need to know.

"I'm not even sure how it happens. But you can't go and I can't tell you." She said.

"Alice, I _need_ to go. Kai wants me there, and Maddy expects me there. I can't leave without a legitimate excuse." I say.

"You need to keep me updated. I don't know when it'll happen, but it will. It might not even happen today. But this party will cause it." Alice says. I'm very confused.

"What's "it"?" I ask.

"I'm not saying."

"I find it ironic that of all people, _you_ are telling me to not go to a party." I say. Alice loves parties.

"I don't care. I will call you every hour to make sure everything's okay." She says, and hangs up.

I walk back up the driveway and they're still standing there.

"Fun conversation?" Maddy asked.

"Sure." I say. It's none of her concern. Kai still looks concerned.

"Thanks for coming early." She said.

"Sure. We don't have anything better to do." Kai said. Maddy leads us in and Kai whispered under his breath.

"What'd she see?"

"I'll tell you later. It's to much too explain at once." I whisper back to him. Once we were in her back yard, I realize that everything's already set up. Why did she have us come early?

"I thought you said that we needed to help set up." Kai said to her.

"I lied." She said quickly. "I just didn't want to be alone for an hour before the party."

"Why?" I ask her.

"Why not?" She replied.

"Well, what are we supposed to do for the next hour?" I ask her.

"Maya." Kai says warningly.

"We're supposed to talk. What's going on with you guys?" She said. Either she's gone back to trying to figure me out, or she's crazy.


	25. Terror

25- Terror

"Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" Maddy asked us.

"Can I have some water?" Kai asked. She nodded and turned to me.

"No thanks." I say, she walks back inside.

"What did Alice say?" Kai asked me.

"She warned me to not come tonight. She wouldn't tell me why, though. She said she "couldn't hurt me like that." But I don't know what that means." I'm still very confused.

"Then why are you here? Alice told you to not to come. There's obviously a reason." He said.

"I'm already here, and if I leave, Maddy will ask questions. Not to mention that she already thinks I'm crazy and not normal. I need to be... as normal as I can be." She was coming back now.

"But Maya, something's going to happen. You said so yourself. Like three days ago." I shook my head and she was back. She handed Kai the bottle.

"So, what should we talk about?" She asked us. I don't react. Kai looks dumbstruck.

"I don't know. We thought we were coming to set up." Kai said. I have a feeling that Kai will talk all night and I won't say a word.

"Well, I lied. So now you get to pretend that you want to be here this early." She said. A car was approaching, her mom was home.

She came out back and saw us sitting there. "You must be Kai and Maya. I've heard so much about you." Her mom said.

Kai waved and I subtly nodded. "Do you want anything to eat?" She asked. She's not going to be just like Maddy, right?

"Not right now." Kai said. She turned to me and I shook my head slowly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Kai said.

"Maddy, can I see you a moment?" She asked, Maddy followed her mother inside. Kai and I don't say anything to each other, but I listen to the conversation from inside.

"They seem nice." Her mom said. It sounded unenthusiastic, untrue.

"He is. She can be a little distant." We get it. You like Kai more than me. It's a recurring track.

"And she never eats anything?" She asked.

"No. She barely says anything either. It's like she's afraid of me."

"She does seem a little hostile." Kai sees me snigger slightly.

"What?"

"Their talking about me." I go back to listening.

"Kai said that she was very sensitive about the topic. It's not just me she's "afraid of". She's averted to everyone." Maddy said.

"So it's not a you thing?" Her mom asked.

"Kai said that it probably isn't. She's here after all." Maddy responded. "But, after a while you have to think that it's a me thing. If I knew what was wrong, I'd try to fix it."

"What does that mean?" Her mother asked.

"The clues have lead me to believe that there is something... wrong. I wish I knew what it was so I could help, or something." Maddy said. I really hope that she stops trying to figure me out.

"Don't go asking questions Madelyn." Her mom said. "If she's sensitive about the subject then don't ask questions."

"I know. But,"

"But nothing. It's none of your concern." I'm starting to like Maddy's mother.

"But,"

"Madelyn."

There was a long pause.

"Fine."

They come back out a minute later with a vegetable tray. I don't say much, Kai does most of it.

"So, it's been a crazy week. First week of school's always the hardest." Maddy's mother said.

"You have no idea." Kai said. It's true. And somehow, I haven't killed anyone. Despite my wishes. "So much happened this week, you don't even know."

"What happened?" Maddy asked.

"Nothing." I say.

"But Kai just said,"

"Nothing happened." I cut her off. Nobody said anything.

As meaningless conversations passed, people started arriving. Not people I knew well, just acquaintances from years past. The only people I really knew were Kai, Maddy, and her mother. Of course, I knew Maddy's sister and friend, Lilly and Alexa. Maddy introduced us to everyone _. Everyone_. She didn't do this to anyone else, except us.

Just over twenty people had arrived when Maddy opened the door.

"Hi. Nathaniel right?" She said. I immobilize. He nods and walks in. "This is Maya and Kai, they live down the street.

"Pleasure to meet you." He put his hand out as a greeting. I don't take it. He took it back slowly.

"Party is right out back." Maddy said and gestured him to the door. She went with him. Kai started to follow, but I grab his arm and hold him back. I immedietly get my phone as quickly as I can I text him.

"What are you doing?" He asked when he picked his own phone up to look at it.

 _Maya: We can't talk out loud anymore._

 _Kai: Why?_

I don't know what to say. I just don't understand how it could be true.

 _Maya: I don't know how._

 _Kai: He's not like you is he?_ He said after my hesitation.

 _Maya: Yes._

 _Kai: How do you know?_

 _Maya: The pale skin, the eye color, the beauty. There is no way that he is human._

 _Kai: Wouldn't you know though? How are we learning about this now?_

 _Maya: Somehow I didn't realize it. I don't know how it's possible._

 _Kai: There must be some reason._

 _Maya: He must be some kind of sheild. I didn't even realize that he arrived at the house until I saw him. He doesn't have a scent._

 _Kai: Why is he here?_

 _Maya: I don't know. But there is no way we can leave this party now. I need to figure this out._

I send the message when Maddy comes back.

"Did you get lost? What's taking you so long? Come on." She said. It's time to face Nathaniel. We follow Maddy back to the yard. Nathaniel is standing alone in the corner. I glipse at him every once in a while. He does the same to me.

Maddy comes over to me after an hour or so passes. Kai was in the bathroom.

"Do you like him or something?" She asked me. She must have noticed me looking at him.

"No." I say in an obvious tone.

"I think he likes you. He's been staring at you all night." She said. I turned to her.

"No way. He doesn't even know me." As far as I know. How long has he been here? He may know everything about me. I go back to looking at him.

"You should go talk to him." Maddy said. It's like she's trying to be my friend.

"Why?"

"If he likes you, you should go talk to him. Maybe, you might like him." Maddy urged.

"You can't learn to like someone through one conversation. You need to build a foundation. That doesn't happen in a minute." I say.

"Then talk for more than a minute." She said. I need to avoid talking to him. Or do I? He's here for a reason and I need to know why. "What are you waiting for? What are you afraid of?"

"You're right." Is this a dumb decision? I have no idea. I walk towards him. I can't tell if I'm nervous. My anger and curiosity is getting in the way.

"Maya Stevens." Nathaniel said. He crossed his arms.

"Who are you, what do you want, and why are you here?" I ask him.

"Woah, woah, woah. Who said I wanted anything?" He asked defensively yet knowing I'm right.

"Your eyes are pitch. Meaning you haven't had anything. You would have fed by now unless you were here on buisness." I say. He doesn't say anything. "How long have you been here?"

"Well, I'm the "homeschooled family from down the street" so that may give an answer." He said.

"You're here for me?" I ask.

"I never said that."

"You moved here just before we did. You've been here the entire time. What other explanation is there?" I say to him.

"Erik was right, you would make a good detective." He said crossing his arms again.

"You were there for that?"

"It's like you said, I've been here the entire time."

"So, you've been following me. Why?" I ask him. I don't pay attention to anything other than him. I need to know.

"Isn't it obvious? Think back." He said. It takes a moment before I get it. Then it hits me. I gasp.

"Alice's vision." I pause. "It wasn't cause and effect. A decision _was_ made. You were there. You saw me discover my ability and told the Volturi. But she didn't see you." I say. How did none of us get it? We were blinded. Completly oblivious.

"Precisely." He said with a grin.

"Why did you not reveal yourself until now?" I ask him. I'm still baffled at how we didn't figure it out.

"How would I have done it before?" He said. How _would_ he have done it before. I guess now was the only good time. If there is a good time.

"What's going on?" I didn't notice Kai come up to us.

"Mr. Malachi. I have been patiently waiting to meet you. The one who keeps Maya sane, as I hear." Nathaniel said. I still don't know if that's his real name.

"Yeah. You didn't answer the question." Kai said protectively. Dangerous territory Kai. It's okay to say that to me, but you don't know how ravenous this vampire could be. He hasn't fed on anything for who knows how long. If you aren't careful, you could be his next meal.

"We've just been talking." Nathaniel replied.

"What are you doing here?" Kai asked.

"Kai, don't." I say to him. He's not getting into this.

"Why?" Nathaniel asked me.

"I'm not going to watch him get hurt." I say to him. "He has nothing to do with this." It's my turn to protect Kai. At all costs.

"Who said I would hurt _him_?" Nathaniel replied.

"What does that mean? What are you implying?" I ask.

"My plan has nothing to do with him." He paused. "Yet."

"Stay away from my family." I practically growl to him.

"Maya. Calm down." Kai said quietly.

"Kai, I'm not letting him hurt you. Or Dad." Nathaniel was just standing there, like he doesn't even care. He probably doesn't.

It was starting to get dark out. People started to go inside. The only people left were the three of us, Maddy, and her mother.

"I won't hurt them, I promise." Nathaniel said. But something tells me that he is lying.

"How do I know if that's true? How do I know if this is just a set up to get to them later?"

"You can't know. That's the beauty of my plan." He said proudly.

"What's your plan? What are you going to do?"

"That is between me and the Volturi. You have nothing to worry about." He walked away and into the house. "Yet." He said. I would be the only one to hear it. Maddy came over to us. She still thinks that he likes me. She can't be more wrong. But I'm glad I came to talk to him.

"So?" She asked me excitedly.

"So, what?" I ask her.

"Do you like him or what? You've been talking for like ten minutes." Maddy said.

"I still know nothing about him. But from what I have, he's a total jerk." I say. I love that he can hear me.

"Sorry. At least you talked to him. Maybe he was a jerk because he likes you." She said.

"I highly doubt that." I say.

"How can you be so sure?" Maddy asked.

"I just know." I respond.

"At least you tried. Come on, now the party is really starting." She urges us inside and we obliged. Kai looked somewhat worried beside me. He has nothing to be worried about. I'll protect him. He is in no danger. As far as I know. For all I _do_ know, he could be in serious danger.

When we were inside, we find everyone on the floor, in a circle.

"Everyone find a seat in the circle." What are you doing Maddy? "Everyone is going to say their name and something about themselves that is important." This is a way of getting answers out of me.

"I'll start. I'm Maddy, and I have a weird compelling to help everyone." This is definitely a way of getting answers out of me.

As the circle went on, I think of what I would say. What won't give anything away, but will give her the impression that I don't need help. What will Nathaniel say?

When the circle comes to Kai, I start getting nervous. It's almost my turn.

"Hi, I'm Malachi, commonly referred to as Kai. I'm a person who needs to protect everyone else." He said. My turn.

"I'm Maya. I am a very strong-willed person and with that, I never back down from a fight." That's something for Maddy _and_ Nathaniel.

A minute later, it was his turn.

"I'm Nathaniel. I never let people see what I am really thinking or feeling. So good luck trying to read me." I can tell that was particularly for me.

When we got back to Maddy, she said, "Well, now that we know each other, we can all get along." Why must you be so positive all the time?

As the hours pass, I keep my eye on Nathaniel. I have a feeling he's doing the same to me. I stick with Kai the entire time. He's really mad that we're still here. He thinks that we should leave. But I disagree wholeheartedly. If we leave, it'll make things worse. We need to show him that we can do this. That _I_ will do this.

I grow to be very nervous around midnight. Everyone was getting drowsy and some were already asleep. By two o'clock the only remaining people awake were Kai and me and Nathaniel, obviously.

Nathaniel was just sitting at the corner of the room sitting. Not doing anything. Just sitting.

 _Maya: Go to bed, Kai._

 _Kai: I'm fine._

 _Maya: You are falling asleep in your hand. Go to bed._

 _Kai: What about you? What about him?_

 _Maya: I can take care of him._

 _Kai: All night?_

 _Maya: Yes. Go to bed._

"That tapping is an absurd sound." Nathaniel said so quietly and quickly so only I would hear and comprehend. Kai is oblivious to it.

"Well, I'm sorry for not wanting for you to overhear my conversations." I respond in a somewhat human tone. Kai noticed at least.

"I've been doing it since you turned." He said.

"Well, I didn't know you existed at that point. Really, it was a dumb move for you. Now, we're never talking out loud again. So, good job." I say. He really isn't the brightest.

"Well, you needed to know of my existence for my plan to run thoroughly." He said.

"Ugh, enough with your plan. The fact that I even know about your plan is a dumb move. I know that something will happen. It gives me a leg up." I say.

"Give me a break, it's my first time." He said. How do I give you a break? For all I know, you're planning to kill me and my family.

I start to stare at him. I stare through him, as if I were making a connection with an object. I haven't experimented with this. Perhaps I can will people. _That_ can be a powerful asset.

"How old are you anyway?" I ask. We're still talking quietly and fast. Kai must be really confused, he just hears noise coming from us.

"I'm coming around on a century. I was turned when I was sixteen in 2028." He said.

"How did the Volturi find you?" I ask. Maybe I will him into giving me some information.

"I was never really trained, so I just killed people. When the Volturi came to check out what happened, they found me. They thought I would make a good spy for their guard. I don't have a scent, so no one knows I'm there. Aro and Edward can't hear me either. Alice can't see me. I'm good at hiding in the shadows." Either it's working, or he's just really, very stupid.

"I've noticed." I say. I notice that Kai has officially fallen asleep. "Since you've been here, have you fed?" I ask.

"Yes. Nothing good though. After you've had the satisfaction of human blood, animal is just... not good." He said.

"Well, lucky for me, I haven't had that satisfaction." I pause. "Have you hurt anyone while you've been here?"

"No." I'm somewhat impressed. "It's been really hard. Can I ask you something?"

"It depends on what. Ask, then I'll decide if I should answer." I say in response.

"How do you not attack anyone during school?" He asked. I guess I can answer.

"Practice. And knowing the consequences of what'll happen if I do." I say.

"What if you run into someone?"

"Hasn't happened yet. I avoid all contact."

"You must be good at it. I just stay on the roof and listen to everything." Nathaniel said. I'm still staring through him. There can't be a chance that he is dumb enough to tell me all of this. Before I can ask about his "plan" he stood up and walked over to me. He took my wrist and took me out of the room. We walked to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes. He turned the light on and closed the door.

"What are you doing?" I ask him.

"Stop doing that." He said.

"Stop doing what?" I ask.

"Stop willing me to tell you everything." He said. I guess I _can_ will people.

"I didn't know I could until you just told me. I just thought you were stupid enough to tell me." I say to him. He crossed his arms.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know what your doing and you need to stop." He said.

"Or what?" I say. It's not like he would do anything with all of these humans around.

"Why should I tell you?" He said. "You already have a leg up."

"I'm just wondering how far you're willing to go." I say. I want to know how far he'll go.

"Just know that the Volturi want you. I will do everything in my power to fulfill their wishes." He said.

"What's in it for you? What will they give you in return." I ask him. He wouldn't do it for no pay.

"Never mind that. I'm here for you and I will do _anything_ to get you." He said. He grasped my wrists and held on. "Anything."

"Stay away from my family." I growl to him through clenched teeth as I rip my hands from his grasp. "If you do anything to them, I will kill you myself." I say with no fear. It's the truth. If he touches Kai or Dad or Mom for that matter, I will figure out a way to hunt him down and I will destroy him.

"Who says I haven't already?" He said.

My anger flared are I yelled, "What have you done?!"

"Calm down, Maya. You wouldn't want the humans to wake up, would you?" He said.

"I don't care. What have you done? You tell me now or I swear-"

"What? You couldn't possibly do anything to me here. You'll have to wait." He said.

"For what, I'm ready now."

"You'll have to wait." He repeated and exited back to Maddy's bedroom. He went back to the spot he was sitting. Everyone had remained asleep. Everyone except for Kai.

"You has a good five minutes of sleep." I say as I sit down next to him.

"Yeah." He got his phone out and, after being blinded, started to text me.

 _Kai: I heard you yell. What happened?_

 _Maya: Don't worry about it. I'll make sure you're safe._

 _Kai: What does that mean?_

 _Maya: It means that I need to protect you and Dad at all costs._

 _Kai: Why?_

 _Maya: I can't tell you. I can't hurt you like that._

Alice's vision. She couldn't hurt me like that. That means that someone's going to happen. But she can't see Nathaniel. What exactly did she see then?

 _Kai: Maya_

 _Maya: You'll be safe, you don't need to worry._

 _Kai: How can I not worry?_

 _Maya: I'll protect you and Dad. If I find Mom then I'll protect her too. Something tells me that she'll need it._

 _Kai: Mom?_

 _Maya: Yes._

 _Kai: Why?_

 _Maya: Go back to sleep. He's not going to hurt you here. Or anywhere._

He turns his phone back off and puts his head back to the pillow. I stare at Nathaniel. I observe his every move. I don't take my eyes off of him. I never close them either. I just watch, to make sure he wouldn't do anything rash.

It's not a difficult job, he doesn't move much. He does what I do every night.

Wait.


	26. Not Out Loud

26- Not Out Loud

I never close my eyes throughout the night. I just watch him. When the sun rises, he pretends to fall asleep in the chair he's in. But I don't. I continue to watch him. When Maddy's parents wake at seven, I debate whether I should play human. I decide no.

Maddy's mother opens the door to her room and sees me sitting there. "Maya, you're awake early." She observes.

"I find it difficult to sleep over at other people's houses. I didn't really sleep at all. But, I'm fine." I'm not lying. In my human life, I could never have sleepovers because my mind would refuse to sleep.

"Do you want some breakfast?" She asked.

I breathed and said, "No, thank you."

"Are you sure? I can bring you something. I haven't seen you eat anything since you've gotten here." She said. I know.

"I know, I prefer not to eat in public." Am I lying? No.

"Okay, if you need anything, just let me know." I nod and she closes the door and leaves.

I go back to staring at Nathaniel. A few minutes after nine, the first person awakes. Just to my luck, it's Maddy. "Been awake long?" She asked. I'll go for the honest approach.

"Yes. I can't sleep in other people's houses. I'm not good at sleepovers." I say. I notice Maddy scoff.

"Can I ask you something?" What now? But, I nod. "Why did you come?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, but I already know. I just want to hear her say it.

"It's obvious that you didn't want to come, so why did you?"

"Kai wanted me here. You expected me here. I wanted to experiment a party. My hypothosis stands true. I didn't like it. Too many people." I say. I knew I'd hate the party. But I needed to come for Kai. I'm glad I came though. Had I not met Nathaniel, I wouldn't know to protect Kai and the rest of my family.

"Thanks for the honesty." She paused and hesitated. "I know this may sound weird to ask, but do you not like me, or something?"

"I don't not like you. You just ask a lot of questions that I'm not comfortable answering." I respond. I then turn to face her "I'm not good with people. That part is obvious. So, when you and Kai became friends in half a second, it stressed me out. Kai is the only person that I can fully trust and when you two are constantly talking, I go into panic mode. I feel unsafe without him." I _do_ need him. Much more than he needs me.

"Oh." She pasues. "I'm sorry I did that. And the other day, I really do mean it. I hope we can be friends."

"I hope to put trust into more than one person. I just hope that I'm not making the wrong decison of putting it in you." I say.

"You're not." She said. I really wish we could have had this conversation without Nathaniel to hear. "Are we friends now?" She asked after a moment's hesitation.

I don't give a clear answer, but I give a reasonable one. "Just don't give me a reason to not trust you. I still may be distant, but I think I'll warm over time. It'll take a lot of time though. I apoligize for that." I say. I hope she gets the message. "Can I ask the same question?"

"Which one?"

"Why did you invite me?" I genuinely want to know.

"I wanted you guys to come."

"Us, or Kai? I ask. She doesn't respond. "I know you like him." I say slowly to her. "You can say it."

"Is it that obvious?" She asked. I nod.

"It's okay. I don't mind." She doesn't say anything. She doesn't move. "Just... Don't hurt him."

"I would never." She said. "I couldn't do that to him. Or you. When you were sick the other day, I was kind of excited to be alone with him. It didn't really go too well. Do you know why he was so upset that day?" She asked. Do I tell her about Mom?

"I do, but I can't tell you without his permission." She looks understanding. I ease. Maybe we can be friends.

"Any idea on when he'll wake up?"

"Nope. Some nights he can get away with an hour of sleep and will be fine, other nights he'll refuse to wake up until twelve hours pass." She laughs, as do I.

"You're warming up already."

"I guess I am." I say. Just then, Kai wakes up to see us talking.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"We were just talking." I say.

"Yeah. Oh, Maya, I forgot to ask." She then starts to whisper. "Did you like Nathaniel? I know you said "no" earlier, but did anything change?" She asked. If only she saw our conversation from seven hours ago.

"If anything, I hate him more. He's really a jerk." I know he can hear me. Kai looks at me worriedly. He is very concerned about this. I don't blame him. But it isn't like I can tell Maddy about him. The _real_ him at least.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm glad I talked to him. I need to learn to step out of my comfort zone more often." Kai looks dumbstruck. But he doesn't say anything. The three of us continue to talk. One by one, people started waking up. They were all in their own conversations, we were in ours. Nathaniel was a bit of an outsider. He talked to nobody. I still glipse at him every once and a while.

When 11:00 rolled around, people started to leave. We told Maddy about Liliana, but not Mom. Maddy's sister was very interested in the fact that they shared the name. Kai and I were some of the last to leave. Nathaniel was one of the first. When we did leave, Kai was very cautious.

 _Maya: Don't worry. I'm going to protect you at all costs._

 _Kai: I know, but the fact that we aren't allowed to talk out loud anymore, is a little frightening._

 _Maya: I know. We'll explain to Dad. We'll figure it out._

We walk home without saying anything else. I'm very cautious. I'm constantly looking on all sides of me. Nathaniel could come and grab Kai at any time. I understand Kai's fear. But, we get home saftly. I would ask Kai to wait outside as I check the house, but it's unsafe for him to be alone.

"Dad?" I call out when we walk in. He comes down the stairs.

"How was the party?" I took my phone back out.

 _Maya: We can't talk out loud anymore._

 _Dad: What?_

 _Maya: I'll explain everything, but we can't talk out loud anymore._

Luckily, he obliges. He stays silent, and follows us into the kitchen. I type a very long message to Dad and Kai in seconds using my speed. It took longer to read than it took to write.

 _Maya: There was someone at the party named Nathaniel. I never knew he existed until yesterday. He's like me. He's a vampire. He's a shield and he has no scent, so we never know where or if he's here. We can't speak or he'll hear us. We can't take any chances with him. Do you remember Alice's vision of the Volturi wanting my ability? It wasn't a cause and effect vision. Nathaniel was there and reported it to the Volturi. He's been spying on us since I turned. He's here and has a plan to get me to the Volturi. That puts you and possibly Mom in serious danger. He's most likely going to use you to get to me. He knows me down to the bone by now. I don't want you to worry. No matter what happens, I will be here to protect you both. I will take care of it. All I need you to do is trust me. We can't speak out loud anymore. He said that he would do anything to fulfill the Volturi's wishes. But I won't let him touch you._

It takes them a minute to get through the entire message. Dad and Kai look at me through puzzles eyes.

 _Dad: What's going to happen?_

 _Maya: I_ _don't know. All I know is that he has something planned. It may include you in it. I'm not positive, he may just be saying that to throw me off course. He may not even have a plan. He may just be doing this to freak me out. That doesn't mean we shouldn't take precautions. I just need you to trust me and to not worry._

 _Kai: What were you yelling about earlier?_

 _Maya: He threatened to hurt you. I won't let that happen. If he comes close to either of you ever again, I'll kill him myself._

 _Dad: Do we need to go that extreme?_

 _Maya: Yes._

 _Dad: But, what if he kills you? What if we lose you?_

 _Maya: He won't hurt me. The Volturi want me in one piece. He wouldn't kill me._

 _Kai: How do you kill a vampire?_

 _Maya: Rip him to shreds and burn the pieces._

 _Kai: What if he's stronger than you? What if you can't kill him?_

 _Maya: I'm still a newborn. I'll be stronger than him for another five months or so._

 _Dad: Okay, we get it._

 _Maya: I'm sorry Dad._

 _Dad: It's okay. Just don't let this take over your life._

 _Maya: Dad, do you not understand? You two could be in serious, literal danger here. There is a good chance he's planning to kill you. If I don't kill him, you'll be dead. I'm not losing you too. Both of you will survive this. I'm positive._

 _Dad: Maya._

 _Maya: Dad._

 _Dad: Okay._

 _Kai: Okay._

I've gotten through to them.


	27. Irritability

27- Irritability

It's very quiet in the house. With no one talking, I'm sort of uncomfortable. Kai and Dad are very paranoid and irritable throughout the day. I constantly keep my phone charged, I hope Kai and Dad do the same. If we need to say anything to each other, we need to either text or learn sign language. I don't think we can do that in a matter of seconds. Or willing to.

 _Maya: Everyone okay?_

 _Kai: You don't need to check on us every three minutes._

 _Maya: Clearly you don't know me at all_

 _Dad: I know you explained everything, but I'm still confused. Why would Nathaniel use us to get to you?_

 _Maya: You are the most important people in my life._

 _Dad: But why would he want to get to you?_

 _Maya: The Volturi want me for their guard._

 _Dad: If he hurts us, wouldn't that make you not go._

 _Maya: I never said he was smart._

 _Dad: Did he say anything about his "plan"?_

 _Maya: He was about to, I tried to will him into saying something, but he figured out what I was doing._

 _Kai: You can will people?_

 _Maya: Yes. It was working for a while, but he realized that I was willing him._

 _Kai: Sweet_

 _Dad: What did he say_

 _Maya: He said that I have nothing to worry about yet. I told him to stay away from my family and he said, "Who says I haven't already". Either he's playing dumb, or he's already hurt you in some way._

 _Dad: Okay, if I hear anymore I'll break. I don't want to know anything else. Just say anything that I need to know._

 _Maya: Okay, just don't talk out loud._

 _Dad: At all?_

 _Maya: At all._

They don't respond. It's weird to look at their faces without hearing words. We go our independent ways, I check on them at least twice an hour. I'm worried for night. If Nathaniel is going to attack them, it'll most likely be at night. I will no longer being my usual night routine. I'm going to take on a new role.

Dad generally goes to bed early, he was asleep by eight. I stayed in Kai's room, we were sitting on the ground playing go fish.

 _Maya: 7_

 _Kai: No._

I grab a card from the pile, it's a seven. I put the two cards on the ground.

 _Kai: 3_

I give him my three and before he can ask for another card, I say something else.

 _Maya: I'm going to go check on Dad._

I put my cards face down, so he can't cheat, and exit the room. I walk to Dad's room and open the door silently. He was lying in the bed, motionless. I look around the room to make sure that Nathaniel wasn't lurking in the corners. When I reach a window, I make sure it is shut and I lock it. I couldn't find him. I leave and head back to Kai's. I decide to check my room as well. I search and find him nowhere. I do the same to my window. My paranoia tells me to do this to every window and door in the house. To get it over with and to get back to Kai, I use my speed. A fair twenty seconds later, I'm back to Kai's door.

I walk to Kai's window and do the same exact thing. It is shut, it is locked.

 _Kai: What happened? That was a bit longer then the last time._

 _Maya: I did a check of the house too. I closed all of the windows and doors, they are locked. He can't get in without breaking something._

 _Kai: Isn't that a tad extreme?_

 _Maya: No. You need to be safe, I need to protect you._

 _Kai: When will all of this be over? When can we speak again? When can we stop worrying._

 _Maya: You don't need to be worried._

 _Kai: When can you stop worrying?_

 _Maya: I'm not worried._

He put his phone down and looked at me with raised eyebrows, unconvinced. I roll my eyes.

 _Maya: I'm being realistic._

 _Kai: You never answered the question._

 _Maya: I don't know when it'll be over. For all I know, his plan is to drive me to him. I'll go crazy and go to him. He could be watching for nothing._

 _Kai: He didn't say anything about time? When he'll do... Whatever he'll do?_

 _Maya: No. But he made many implements that something will happen. And Alice's vision of something happening, it adds up. He is going to do something to hurt me. I don't know when, I don't know how, but it will happen._

 _Kai: What if he takes a lot of time? What happens when you need to hunt?_

 _Maya: I don't know Kai. I can't leave you here unattended, and I'm not risking you being around while I hunt. Again. That went great last time._

 _Kai: No offense, but I agree._

I laugh slightly. I pick the cards back up and we continue the game. We play a few times and we bid goodnight at eleven. I go to Dad's room. He's still asleep. I don't know what I was expecting. I just need to make sure he's okay. I don't want to bother Kai while he is trying to fall asleep. That is really hard for me. I stay with Dad for about thirty minutes. Then I do a clean sweep of the house to make sure he's nowhere to be found. Then I go back to Kai's and check on him.

I continue the same routine over and over. Dad, house, Kai. However, I spend five minutes in their rooms. The entire cycle takes just under eleven minutes. I'm not being over the top about this.

I hope Mom's okay. I don't know where she is and I have a feeling he'll use her. I wish I could will him into telling me his information. But he knew. How can I will him without him knowing that I am? I still don't know how it works. How did he know that I was doing that? Maybe it works better on humans.

They don't wake up when I check on them. They're just asleep. I don't know what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for something to happen. I'm waiting for a chance to save them. I'm waiting for all of this to be over.

I'm not letting Nathaniel touch them. He's not hurting my family. I will protect them at all costs. I wish there was two of me, that way I could keep an eye on them all the time. Well, if I'm wishing for things, I wish that we weren't in this situation in the first place. I wish that Nathaniel would leave us alone. I wish that Nathaniel would go back to the Volturi and forget about me. I wish that everything was back to normal. Back before I turned.

I'm sick of this new life. I'm sick of having to restrain myself from killing people. I'm sick of having to go three hundred miles just to eat. I'm sick of having to play protector. I'm sick of being scared all the time. I'm sick of all of this!

It's not like I can stop protecting them though. I will continue to protect them for however long this will last. I will forever. Well, not forever. They won't be around forever.

Oh, my God. They aren't going to be around forever. They are going to age and die and I'm going to lose them. I'm going to be alive and well and they're going to be dead. I can't lose them. What will I do without them?

I don't know why the Cullen's decided to turn me. Why me? Why couldn't they just let me die? I mean, everyone in their family was changed for a reason. They had a connection with that person. What was my connection? What made them obligated to change me?

After about ten times through the routine, I decide to ask the question. I get out my phone and text Bella. I'm going to have to explain that we can't talk, aren't I?

 _Maya: I need to ask you something._

 _Carlisle: Anything._

 _Maya: Why me?_

 _Carlisle: What do you mean?_

 _Maya: What compelled you guys to change me? You all felt connections with each other that made you turn. What was my connection? Why didn't you just let me die?_

He doesn't respond. A few moments later, he called me. I decline it.

 _Maya: I can't talk out loud. Don't ask why, it's a long story and I'm not getting into I right now._

 _Carlisle: We didn't want to change you. We were going to let you die. Obviously, that didn't happen. It's because we did feel a connection with you._

 _Maya: That's it? You felt a connection? Nothing else?_

 _Carlisle: What brought this on?_

 _Maya: It's a long story. When all of this is over I'll explain. And you didn't answer the question._

 _Carlisle: We felt a connection with you. We knew that you couldn't die because you were meant to be with us._

 _Maya: Why?_

 _Carlisle: Maya, I know that this life is difficult, but you need to accept it._

 _Maya: I'm trying. But I just don't understand what the connection was._

He hesitated a moment. I get nervous. What's he thinking of?

 _Carlisle: It's hard to explain. It's the same feeling we had with Rosalie. It was the same feeling with all of us. You were meant to be like this. I'm not sorry that I saved you._

 _Maya: Thank you Carlisle._

 _Carlisle: You're welcome._

I put my phone down and start the cycle again.


	28. Malice

28- Malice

When the sun started to rise, I start to calm down a bit. I don't think Dad or Kai will enjoy waking up with me watching them. I'm in the kitchen doing the dishes when Dad walks down.

"Morning." He said. I turn to him and shake my head. He then remembers what we need to do. He took his phone out of his pocket.

 _Dad: What have you been doing all night?_

 _Maya: Making sure you and Kai were safe. I did clean sweeps of the house every five minutes. I would be with Kai or you at all times._

 _Dad: Is that really necessary?_

 _Maya: Yes, Dad. It is absolutely necessary. You need to be safe._

 _Dad: Have you come up with a plan?_

 _Maya: No. I just wish I knew what he was planning. That way I can kill him and get this over with._

Dad looked up at me with a worried look on his face.

 _Maya: What?_

 _Dad: I just don't like the idea of you killing someone._

 _Maya: I don't either. But it will make you safe. I'm not taking any chances. He can't be trusted._

 _Dad: But, Maya. How do you know he's trying to hurt you?_

 _Maya: Dad, his word is enough as proof. He is going to do something. Alice saw something before the party and wouldn't tell me. It has something to do with Nathaniel. I need to keep you both safe. And if that means keeping an eye on you every minute than I'll do it. I am not taking any chances._

 _Dad: There is no convincing you, is there?_

 _Maya: No._

The conversation ended there. When Kai woke up two hours later, he remembered our deal. No speaking. He started a conversation that made me quiver.

 _Kai: Are you friends with Maddy now?_

 _Maya: Yes. I'm sorry for my doubts. She was trying to help me. She's really great._

 _Kai: Good. Can I ask a question?_

 _Maya: Sure._

 _Kai: Well, it's not a question per se, but more of a general wondering._

 _Maya: What, Kai?_

 _Kai: When I went to school without you the other day, Maddy and I talked._

He stopped typing.

 _Kai: She asked me out._

I don't say anything.

 _Maya:_ _Okay... What did you say?_

 _Kai: I said I'd think about it. I wanted you to be comfortable with it._

 _Maya: What do you think now?_

 _Kai: I think I like her. And, if it's okay with you, I want to say yes._

 _Maya: Don't let me stop you. If you really like her, then say yes._

 _Kai: I want to say yes._

 _Maya: What would you do?_

 _Kai: She said that we would have a picnic and talk. She recommended today because it would just be us._

 _Maya: Today? If you go, I can't keep an eye on you._

 _Kai: That's why I'm hesitant to say yes. I don't want you to worry._

 _Maya: That puts me in a difficult position._

 _Kai: We can do it on a different day._

 _Maya: No. Go today. If you cancel, she'll get suspicious._

 _Kai: Are you sure?_

 _Maya: Yes._

It's a difficult decision to make and I'm not sure I approve of it. I need to keep an eye on him at all times. But, now I can't. But I shouldn't. Did I just put him in harm's way? I'm paranoid for the entire day. I have no idea if I made the right choice. At 11:30, Kai started walking to Maddy's. He said that he would be home around 1:00. So now I know when I should rescue him if need be.

 _Dad: He'll be fine._

 _Maya: How do you know? We don't know how ruthless Nathaniel is. He might be standing at Maddy's front door right now waiting for Kai to walk up. I should be with him. But then I need to be here with you. We need to be together._

 _Dad: I hardly think that Nathaniel would do anything with Maddy in the room._

 _Maya: Right._

 _Dad: Speaking of not being together, I need to go grocery shopping. I expect you're coming along?_

 _Maya: I don't know. I think he's more likely to get Kai than you. If you're in a store, there are hundreds of witnesses. At Maddy's house there is one. I should stay near Kai._

 _Dad: Are you sure?_

 _Maya: Yes. Hurry back._

He leaves and I wait. Alone. I am absolutely terrified. I don't know what I was thinking. Letting them go alone. I'm so stupid.

Maybe not, with them gone, Nathaniel could come after me. They would safe. This is good. Right?

I haven't moved since Dad left. I am sitting at the window looking down the street. An hour passes. It's almost 1:00. I'm starting to get scared. Nothing's happened to me. What is Nathaniel doing right now?

When 1:00 rolled around. No one had come home. Dad was still out and Kai was still at Maddy's. I'm terrified at this point. I wait fifteen minutes. Nothing. Okay, I'm done. I'm going to Maddy's. Irun upstairs and put a sweatshirt on. The sun is out and shining. I need to put protective clothing on. A second later, I'm at the front door. I walk out and walk quickly to her house. When I'm at her door, I knock. No answer. I call Kai. No answer. I try the knob. It opens.

"Kai? Kai?!" Nothing. "Maddy?!" Nothing. "Anyone?!" I yell out. Nothing. I swear under my breath. Nathaniel has them both. Were I able to cry, I would be. I would be crying a river. I find Maddy's kitchen table, with a not on it.

 _Miss Maya Stevens,_

 _Knowing you, you are probably in Maddy's house by 1:30. If you ever want to see them again, come to Monongahela as quickly as possible. I have a little something to show them and you. Have fun running in broad daylight. -Nathaniel_

I don't care if I get seen by a human, I run faster than I have ever before. Even faster than when I tried to kill Erik. It usually takes me 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to Monongahela. However, I was in the forest by 3:15. Just under two hours.

"Nathaniel!" I yell out. After calling his name and running around the forest for what felt like days, I find Kai's scent. I follow it. It's not just Kai's scent. It's Maddy's and Dad's too. And Mom's.

I keep running and I see them and him in ten seconds. The first person I see is Nathaniel, he is standing in front of them, smirking. I stand in anger, hatred, malice. We were standing in a clearing. The trees no longer surrounded us completely. They were a circle around, us in the middle. They all looked scared. Maddy was confused. She has no idea what is going on.

"Miss Maya." Nathaniel said. "I know you'd fall for the bait."

"Get away from my family." I growl to him. We're about five feet from each other.

"What about Maddy?" He asked. He started walking human-like towards her.

"Get away from them. Don't lay a finger on them." I continue to snarl. I'm giving him a malicious glare. I don't breathe. He starts walking to me. When we're less than a foot now.

I grasped his wrists. He tried to escape, but I'm stronger than him. Mom, Dad, Kai, and Maddy try not to move a muscle.

"Leave my family alone, and I'll let you survive." I growl to him. My voice is dark, a demonic tone. I sense my family's fear, but Nathaniel doesn't react.

"And what if I don't? You don't have it in you to kill me." He said to me. My grip loosened slightly and he ran in their direction. I followed him, but I was a half second too late.

He had my mother in his grasp. He held her by the arm. I look between the two of them. If I try to save her, he'll crush her.

Dad and Kai are crying but trying not to say anything. Maddy is in tears too. She is holding Kai's wrist in fear.

"What do you want?" I ask him.

"I want them dead. The Volturi think they can't be trusted. I've been assigned to kill them. And to destroy you." He says. When did the orders change?

"You won't get away with this." It was the wrong thing to say, for he took her arm and yanked. My mother was dead. Kai and Dad screamed.


	29. Nathaniel

29- Nathaniel

I want to jump on top of him. He killed my mother. I was hesitant before, but now I'm positive. I am going to kill him.

I lunge forward and push him. He flies across the field. Mom's blood was everywhere on the ground. But I don't care. Nathaniel is more important than the satisfaction I am malevolently longing for. I run towards him, he runs towards Mom. I, again throw myself at him. He is not laying another atom of his body on anyone else.

He is no longer him. He stopped fighting for me, he's fighting for my mother now. He wants to suck her dry. I won't let him. I'll kill him before he does anything else. I'm still fighting for the reason I came.

He thinks we're fighting for her blood. He's in a hunting stance, as am I. I can only imagine that we look like two animals in the wild. Maddy must think she is crazy. We stay in our stances for a few seconds. He tries again for Mom. I'm in her defense.

We spar near Mom. I don't know how to fight properly. I just keep throwing him in any direction away from Mom. I throw fists and feet. After the eighth time he flew across the field, he took a new tactic. He jumped up rather out. He had his fist out, ready to hit me. But, I grip on his neck right before he hit the ground. I need to jump to do so. When we meet, I slam him to the ground. I expect him to go up, but he moved back. It caught me off guard.

He threw my back. I land on my feet fifty feet away. We run towards each other. I jump up, he goes below. We land and start again. We both go up; my hand meets his chest and I slam him down. I grab his arm and pull him up. We were very close now, it's a bad decision.

He jumps on top of me, I fall to the ground. We're both growling and snarling. He has his hand on my chin. It's no use, my new-born advantages are stronger. I push him off of me. He tries again, but I'm quicker. I go around him and put his head into a choke hole. I use every bit of strength I have to rip his head off. I'm not successful yet. It's only when I kick his knees, and he falls to the ground, when his head finally popped off.

Nathaniel is dead. I stand tall. Proud. I smirk.

* * *

 _Malachi's POV_

Her blood went everywhere. My mother is dead. First, she left, then she dies days later. Maya was right, I shouldn't have gone to Maddy's. It's my fault.

Right then, Maya and Nathaniel start to fight. They moved faster than lightning. I couldn't comprehend anything that happened. All I hear are the snarls and growls from what I can only believe to be Maya.

I'm in shock. I don't know what to pay attention to, Maya or Mom. I can't stand to look at Mom but looking at the fight gives me a headache. Maddy is looking at them, she looks horrified. She obviously can't comprehend it either. Nobody says anything. The only person moving is Dad. He fell to the ground at Mom's side. He took her hand and wept.

After only thirty seconds, I realize the fight is over. I see her stand. She won.

How do we explain this to Maddy? Obviously, the secret's out. Nathaniel didn't say anything when he took us.

I know that Maya is going to take this the hardest. She 100% will blame herself. She won't let anyone change her opinion on it. It'll be her fault, no questions asked. But it isn't her fault.

I'm just glad that this is over.

* * *

 _Maya's POV_

I then remember why we're in this situation. I run back to my family. Dad and Kai are on the ground with Mom. They are crying and I see Kai start to hyperventilate. Maddy is still standing in fear. I see her confusion.

I drop to the ground. I wish I could cry. I wish so much. I discard the blood everywhere. I am uncomfortable with it, I don't know if I can control myself, but I have so far. Besides, I'm in too much grief to drain her.

Maddy drops to the ground with us. She's speechless. We sit there in tears for an hour. I completely forget about Nathaniel. I forget about ripping him and burning him. It can wait. I need to mourn right now.

No one knows when it's time to talk. No one knows _who_ should talk. Maddy decided it was her.

"I'm really sorry." Maddy said. She was still next to Kai.

"If anyone should be sorry, it's me." I say.

"Not now Maya." Kai said.

"Do you have another reason? This is all my fault." I say. Dad is oblivious to any talking. He is lost in agony.

"Can someone just explain what's going on?" Maddy asked.

"Not yet." I say.

"Maya." Kai said to me.

"My job isn't finished. He isn't dead yet." I say the second sentence after a moment.

"Right. Anyone have a match?" Kai asked. Sometimes when Kai is in pain, he'll make jokes. This is one of those times.

"I don't think we need one." I say. I have a theory, but I don't know if it will work.

"But you said-" I cut him off.

"I can try something."

"Do you have a flint?" He asked me.

"Well, a fire only needs three things. Fuel, oxygen, and heat. He's the fuel, there is oxygen everywhere. All I need to do is apply heat." I say.

"And how are _you_ going to apply heat?"

"I have a theory." I stand and walk over to him. His head is a few feet from his body. I crouch down. Just to be safe, I rip his remaining appendages off. My theory is maybe I can apply the heat with my ability. I can manipulate substances. Objects, people, possibly energy. I let my eyes connect with his limbs. I concentrate hard on what I want to happen.

 _Heat._ I keep thinking. _Heat_.

It takes a moment, but after a fair thirty seconds, he ignites.

I stand back up and walk back to my family. No one has moved, but Maddy was in awe. Kai went back to crying. Dad still hasn't realized anything else. The world has stopped turning for him. For all of us.

We sat there for another hour waiting for Dad to calm down. When he is finally dry of tears, I turn back to where Nathaniel was. The fire stopped, all that remained was a pile of ashes.

"I know, Dad." I say, rubbing his back in comfort.

"Can you please do one thing for me, Maya?" He asked me in chopped breaths.

"Anything."

"Don't put this on your shoulders. I just want to forget all of this and go back to how we were." He said.

"Me too." Is all I can say. I look up at Kai and Maddy. She's still longing for an explanation. I don't know if I'm prepared to give one. When we get home. Wait.

"How did he get you here?" I ask.

"I don't know. I just closed my eyes and when I opened them, we were here." Dad said. He sounds fine, but I know that he isn't.

"What about you two?" I ask Maddy and Kai.

"Same thing." Maddy replied.

"Great." I say under my breath. That means he ran here. Now what? I'm not running them home. It'll make them sick. Kai realizes what I'm thinking of.

"You wanna call Erik?" He asked me.

"I will slap you." I say. I'm done with Erik. Never again. Maddy wants to ask questions, but she doesn't. Wait, how could Nathaniel have run here? With all four of them? "Hold on, I'm going to look for Dad's car." I say standing up.

"Why?" Dad and Kai asked simultaneously.

"Because it's the only logical explanation." I say. I leave the clearing and back into the trees. After minutes of running around, I find it. "Perfect." I say. I go back to the clearing, no one has moved. "I found it."

Before we go to the car, however, we decide we don't want to leave Mom like this. We dig a hole where she died and lay her there. Dad found a stone we could put with her. Kai found a sharp rock and I carved _Elizabeth Stevens, a Mother, a Wife, a Friend._


	30. Anecdote

30- Anecdote

It was a fair two-mile trek back to the car. Then, her explanation begins. We tell her everything. _Everything._ But, she asked the question first.

"Can someone explain to me what just happened?" Maddy asked.

"It's a long story. But I guess since you just saw everything, there's no keeping it from you." I say. I could will her, but I think she deserves the right at this point. "Well, here goes nothing.

"Do you believe in the supernatural?" I ask.

"Well, I certainly have reason to, after what just happened." She replied. I sigh and start.

"Back in December, our family visited Washington for Christmas and New Year's. We have family up there." I begin. We're just walking, she's listening intently. "As I was leaving a store, I was hit by a car. I was practically dead when this other family found me. The Cullen's. Right before I was about to die, the leader, Carlisle, turned me." I stop here.

"Turned you?" Maddy encouraged.

"Turned me into a vampire." There, I said it. Before she says anything else, I continue. "We're different from the myths. But, the same. We drink blood, we have the speed and strength, the heightened senses. We don't sleep. We don't eat. We don't age. The superstitions aren't true, though. The sun doesn't kill us. We aren't harmed by holy items or stakes, or anything like that. We are very difficult to kill.

"Most of our kind don't live the way I do. They hunt humans. We, I and the Cullen's, hunt animals only. But blood nevertheless. Vampires get very thirsty. Sometimes it's uncontrollable. Somehow, I've managed to not kill anyone. The first day of school was the hardest of my life. 1,200 or so distinctly different humans plus 1 vampire equals death, most likely. There was a very possible chance that someone would die that day. This is where you come in." I turn to her. She has a blank face. I don't see any emotion in her.

"I was very scared when we met you. You and Kai became friends very quickly and it scared me. You and Kai means you and me. What I said yesterday morning was true. It's very difficult to trust anyone outside my family. When you wanted us to come to the party, I was utterly terrified. But, it's like I said, both you and Kai wanted and expected me there. Then, this is where Nathaniel comes in.

"Every creature, human, animal, vampire, etc., has a scent. However, Nathaniel did not. Some vampires have extended abilities, like him and me. He makes a good spy. I can manipulate substances. I can will them to do what I wish them to. It can be quite the useful asset. But, back to Nathaniel.

He's been spying on me since I was turned. Always watching and listening. His initial plan was to take me to the Volturi. They wanted my ability for their guard. The Volturi are this all-power family in Italy. They basically are "vampire royalty". They enforce the laws we have. There aren't many. There are three main ones. We don't kill conspicuously, we don't create immortal children, and we don't expose ourselves to the humans. So, I'm breaking the law right now.

"I told my family for obvious reasons. They're my family and I needed to be with them. Somehow, I convinced the Cullen's to let them know. I must have willed them subconsciously. Anyway, the Volturi wanted me. Nathaniel was assigned to kill my family. He was later assigned to kill me too. He was unsuccessful of course, I killed him first. Had I not been a new-born, I probably would have lost.

A new-born is a vampire who is still within their first year of turning. We're much, _much,_ stronger in this time. To humans it doesn't make much of difference. The only difference it makes is when we fight another vampire. Nathaniel told me he was about a century old, meaning I am still about five months stronger than him. After the first year, vampires are pretty much the same, strength wise.

"I wasn't going to let Nathaniel hurt my family. I protected them at all costs. But, when they were stolen, I had to rush to their rescue. I had failed. I needed to be in their defense. From the moment I first talked to him, I knew that I was going to end up killing him. But it wasn't until he killed Mom, where I was positive. That time, I won _._ " I finish. "I think that's everything." Kai and Dad don't say anything. Maddy is simply dumbstruck.

"So, you don't get sick or anything like that?" She asked me.

"No."

"Then where were you when Kai said you were?" She said. I sigh. Another story.

"Right. This is a hard story." I pause. "The night before, I ran off. Here actually." I'm not going to mention that Mom left. I can't talk about her right now. Her death was so quick. In the blink of an eye. Talking about her will hurt me, Dad, and Kai. "I just needed to think. My thoughts kept me here all night. Before today, I've never run in broad daylight. Paranoia kept getting the best of me.

"In the morning, I was found by a man. His name was Erik. Let me tell you, I've never hated anyone so much before." I say. Dad says his first words in the conversation.

"He had his best interests at heart and you know it." He said.

"Basically, he was really worried about me. He thought I was trying to kill myself out here. I wasn't. He offered me a ride home, he offered me food and water. I wouldn't let him. If he gave me a ride, he would realize that I came 300 miles in one night. Not exactly plausible. At that point, I hadn't tried human food yet. I knew that I wouldn't like it and I would regurgitate it. I didn't know how it would work.

"Then, Dad and Kai found me. And we went home."

"You left out the most important part of that story." Kai said with an offended tone.

"I left out the scarring part of the story. Maddy doesn't need to hear that." I say.

"What happened?" Maddy asked.

"She almost killed us." Kai said.

"Kai!" I say.

"What? Am I lying?" He said. I give him my death glare.

"There isn't anything else to it. Let's just leave it there." We were approaching the car now. My story was finished. When we got in, I look at the clock. It's almost five. "Maddy, when does your Mom get home from work?" I ask.

"She's working late, so not until eight." She responded.

"There isn't enough time. It takes five hours to drive." Dad said. "Maya, take Maddy home. I'll take Kai."

"Dad." I say hesitantly.

"Any better ideas? She needs to get home before her Mom does." I can't believe this is about to happen. "Maddy?" Dad asked her.

"I don't really have a choice here, do I?" She asked Dad.

"No." We get out of the car. They start to drive away.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask Maddy.

"What other option is there?" She replied.

"Are you okay with all of this?" I ask her. That is a great priority.

"Yes. This is you. How can I not accept it?" She said. I internally smile, it shows a little on the outside.

"You ready?" I ask. She climbs on my back. She's lighter than a feather. "I recommend closing your eyes. I'd rather not have you throw up on me." She closed them. "Here we go." I start moving.

It isn't very different from regular running. I just don't move my arms in the same way. I try to go as quickly as possible, so she could get home quickly.

By the time we get to her house, it is just after 7:30. Her Mom is not home yet.

"You can open your eyes. We're here." I say.

She hesitated before saying, "Don't ever want to do that again. My hair feels like it is coming off of my skull." I give a small laugh.

"Sorry."

"Other than that, pretty smooth ride, I gotta say." She said. I laugh more enthusiastically. She sees it.

"Where's your sister?" I ask.

"She's been at Alexa's all day. She actually should be home soon." Maddy said.

"Do you want me to stay?" I ask her.

"It's fine."

"Maddy, you know that you can't tell anyone. No one can know about this." I say.

"I know. I kind of figured when you mentioned the Volturi's laws." I nod. Then I realize.

"Do you know where Nathaniel was staying? I kind of want to check it out." I say. I just need to be sure that there is nothing else to worry about.

"It's down the street. The one that's sort of hidden in the trees." She said.

"Thanks." I say. We say good bye and I walk away.

"Maya?" She said, I turn back. "Be careful."


	31. Okay

31- Okay

I go to where Maddy has told me. I really hope she understands that she can't tell a soul. If she does... I don't even know.

When I arrive at the house, I do a quick search around the perimeter. I try the door knob, it opens with a creak. There aren't any people in the house, as far as I know. I don't find anything in the house that I would need. I don't know what I was trying to find. Just taking precautions.

The only thing I find in the house, other than furniture, is a small cell phone laying on a table. This is what I needed to find. I pick it up and turn it on. I'm surprised when it doesn't ask for a password.

"For a spy, you're not very smart Nate." I say out loud. There aren't any apps other than the ones that can't be deleted. I go to the contacts. There is only one. It doesn't have a name, just a number.

I have a feeling I know who it is, but I call the number. It rings for a while, but a voice answered.

"Why, Nathaniel. How pleasant to speak to you once more. How is your assignment going?" He asked. I can only assume it's one person.

"Hello Aro." I respond.

"Ah. You must be Maya. Yes, Nathaniel has told me so much of you." He said politely. I've never met him, but I know him well enough to see through his façade.

"Yes. Who knew anyone in the Volturi would succumb to such simple human technology?" I say.

"Well, Nathaniel and I must communicate. Which reminds me... Where is Mr. Nathaniel?" He asked.

"He's been destroyed." I say.

"What a pity. I've grown to like him. I assume you were the one at hand?" He asked me.

"You assume correctly."

"That's too bad. He was quite the useful asset." He paused. "Surely that was because you knew of his assignment." He said.

"It was." I say plainly.

"Tut tut. That won't do at all." He said.

"What won't do is why he assigned his task." I say. He doesn't respond. I try my most convincing voice, I attempt to will him. "You and the rest of your coven will stay away from my family and the Cullen's." I say.

"What about you? You, as well, would make a valuable asset to us." Aro said.

"You and the Volturi will stay away from me, my family, and the Cullen's." I repeat, more firmly this time.

"As long as I have no reason to, I don't see why I need to come for you or your family. Nor the Cullen's."

"You have no reason to." I say.

"I don't." He said.

"Correct." I respond. Despite the fact that he actually does have reason to. Dad, Kai, and now Maddy knows about our existence. He doesn't need to know that though.

"Well, Maya. Thank you for telling me of Nathaniel's death. I hope we speak again soon. Good day to you." He said.

"And you." I say politely. But, I'm lying. I hope to never speak to him again. I hang up the phone. Now what? What do I do with it? I delete the number off the phone and clear the memory. I place the phone back on the table and leave the house. I go home.

It is just past eight now. Dad and Kai won't be back for another two hours. I'm alone.

I go to my room. I don't know what to do with myself. I don't have anything to do. I call the Cullen's, I probably should catch them up.

"Maya? Is everything okay?" Carlisle asked.

"It's moderate." I say. I walk them through the last few days. Starting with the party. I ended with my talk with Aro. "Can I now know Alice's vision?"

"It was of your mother. I saw the gravestone and the three of you standing next to it. I had it right before you went to the party, so I knew it had something to do with the party." Alice said.

"Oh."

"So, what now?" I ask.

"We can stop worrying." Carlisle said.

"Yeah. We're okay."

 **Hi. Thank you so much for reading Holding Breath. Just so you know, I'm not finished with this story. I will be writing a sequel which will be coming out soon. I hope you enjoyed this story, I really enjoyed writing it and can't wait to write more. Please review because I would love to know what you think. Love you :)**

 **The sequel is now out if you are interested in reading it. It is titled "Exhale" and I am sorry for such a cheesy title. I hope you enjoy.**


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